Hierarchical structuring of liquid crystal polymer-Laponite hybrid materials.

Biomimetic organic-inorganic composite materials were fabricated via one-step self-organization on three hierarchical levels. The organic component was a polyoxazoline with pendent cholesteryl and carboxyl (N-Boc-protected amino acid) side chains that was able to form a chiral nematic lyotropic phase and bind to positively charged inorganic faces of Laponite. The Laponite particles formed a mesocrystalline arrangement within the liquid-crystal (LC) polymer phase upon shearing a viscous dispersion of Laponite nanoparticles and LC polymer in DMF. Complementary analytical and mechanical characterization techniques (AUC, POM, TEM, SEM, SAXS, μCT, and nanoindentation) covering the millimeter, micrometer, and nanometer length scales reveal the hierarchical structures and properties of the composite materials consisting of different ratios of Laponite nanoparticles and liquid-crystalline polymer.