Behavior of the director reorientation time in glass surfaces of lyotropic liquid crystals in the nematic to biaxial transition

The surface reorientation process of a lyotropic liquid crystal is investigated in the calamitic (${\mathit{N}}_{\mathit{c}}$) and biaxial (${\mathit{N}}_{\mathit{bx}}$) nematic phases. It is observed that the surface reorientation process is faster in the biaxial phase and the characteristic time of this process ${\mathrm{\tau }}_{\mathit{s}}$ increases linearly with increasing temperatures, in both nematic phases. The results obtained are discussed and compared to the predictions of a model assuming the gliding of the director at the boundary surfaces. © 1996 The American Physical Society.