Da Cruz C, Launois P, Veber M
Laboratoire de Physique des Solides (UMR CNRS 8502), Université Paris Sud, 91 405 Orsay, France.
J Nanosci Nanotechnol. 2004 Jan-Feb;4(1-2):86-90. doi: 10.1166/jnn.2004.043.
Dispersions of single-walled carbon nanotubes in a 4-pentyl-4'-cyano-biphenyl nematic liquid crystal matrix are studied by X-ray scattering. For some mixtures, the addition of nanotubes strongly modifies the properties of the matrix: under a magnetic field, the nematic director is aligned perpendicular to the field, whereas it is parallel to it for pure 4-pentyl-4'-cyano-biphenyl. This original modification of liquid crystal alignment by the addition of nanotubes raises new questions about nanotubes and liquid crystal interactions.
