We have studied a sequence of anchoring transitions observed in nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) sandwiched between hydrophobic polyimide substrates treated with a plasma beam. There is a pronounced continuous transition from a homeotropic to a slightly tilted (nearly planar) alignment with the easy axis parallel to the incidence plane of the plasma beam (the zenithal transition) which takes place as the exposure dose increases. In NLCs with positive dielectric anisotropy, a further increase in the exposure dose results in in-plane reorientation of the easy axis by 90° (the azimuthal transition). This transition occurs through the twofold degenerate alignment characteristic of second-order anchoring transitions. In contrast to the critical behavior of anchoring, the contact angle of the NLC and water on the treated substrates declines monotonically with increasing exposure dose. It follows that the surface concentration of hydrophobic chains decreases continuously. The anchoring transitions under consideration are qualitatively interpreted by using a simple phenomenological model of competing easy axes which is studied by analyzing anchoring diagrams of generalized polar and nonpolar anchoring models.

• Received 25 October 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.77.031706