Abstract—The effect of boundaries on the nematic–isotropic phase transition temperature in a melt of a
metallomesogenic complex was studied for the first time. This was done by comparison of the electro-optical
constant of the isotropic phase with the dielectric and optical anisotropy of the nematic phase on the basis of
the Landau–de Gennes theory. In a real experiment, the two liquid phases (nematic and isotropic ones)
coexist in a range of several degrees around the transition. According to polarization microscopy data, the
phase transition temperature decreases by more than 10C as the metallomesogen layer thickness is reduced
from 200 to 5 m.