Monte carlo simulation study of confined oblate hard sphero-cylinders

In this study, NVT and NPT Monte Carlo simulations are performed to investigate the effects of confinement on a system of oblate hard sphere-cylinders (OHSCs) with an aspect ratio of [Formula: see text]. The bulk system is initially analyzed, and the isotropic-to-nematic phase transition is examined. The confined system is considered for two wall-particle interactions: Hard particle-hard walls (HPW) that fully exclude particles and hard-disc-walls (HDW), where OHSC particles near the walls are replaced with discs of diameter, [Formula: see text]. Our findings reveal that HPW and HDW interactions with large [Formula: see text] favor homeotropic (face-on arrangement) anchoring, while small [Formula: see text] induces planar (edge-on arrangement) anchoring. The transition parameter [Formula: see text], the shift from planar to homeotropic anchoring, is determined through simulations and compared with our analytically calculated value. The results are in good agreement. We compare the isotropic-nematic transition packing fraction of bulk and confined systems between hard walls and HDW walls ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. Additionally, the results for hard walls and HDW walls with [Formula: see text] were compared. Analyzing the effects of packing fraction on particle behavior near walls and within the cell, enhancing the understanding of confinement-induced ordering in anisotropic particle systems.