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Control of Morphology of Nanoparticles – Liquid Crystal Colloids

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

John L. West ,
Ke Zhang  and
Anatoliy Glushchenko
John L. West
Affiliation:
Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA
Ke Zhang
Affiliation:
Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA
Anatoliy Glushchenko
Affiliation:
Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA
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Abstract

In this work we report methods of formation of three-dimensional structures of particles in a liquid crystal host. We found that, under the appropriate conditions, the particles are captured and dragged by the moving isotropic/nematic front during the phase transition process. This movement of the particles can be enhanced significantly or suppressed drastically by application of an electric field and/or by changing the conditions of the phase transition, such as the rate of cooling. As a result, a wide variety of particle structures can be obtained ranging from a finegrained cellular structure to stripes of varying periods to a course-grained “root” structure. Changing the properties of the materials, such as the size and density of the particles and the surface anchoring of the liquid crystal at the particle surface, can also be used to control the morphology of the three-dimensional particle network and adjust the physical properties of the resulting dispersions.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 776: Symposium Q – Unconventional Approaches to Nanostructures with Applications in Electronics, Photonics, Information Storage and Sensing , 2003 , Q3.8
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2003

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