Molecular dynamics simulation study of two-dimensional diffusion behavior in smectic liquid crystalline monolayers

We have carried out molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for monolayers of smectic A and C liquid crystal (LC) phases in order to investigate the in-plane molecular diffusion from the microscopic point of view. In contrast to similar complex two-dimensional systems (e.g., biomembranes) whose molecular diffusion is anomalous, in-plane mean square displacements (MSDs) for both phases increase linearly with passing time similar to typical fluids on the nanosecond time scale. By following the relation between the diffusion and the viscosity in the fluids, we estimated the viscosity coefficients for both LC monolayers, and the obtained values indicate that the smectic A monolayer has a higher viscosity than the smectic C one. Moreover, we investigate the in-plane self-diffusion anisotropy Dk=D? for smectic C and found that the diffusion parallel to the molecular tilt is 1.5 times larger than that in the perpendicular direction. This anisotropic diffusion property in the smectic C monolayer has not been clearly confirmed thus far.