Martínez-Miranda Luz J, Taylor Jefferson W, Kurihara Lynn K
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland Energy Research Center University of Maryland , College Park, Maryland 20742-2115, United States.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland , College Park, Maryland 20742-2115, United States.
Langmuir. 2016 Jan 12;32(1):239-46. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b03255. Epub 2015 Dec 29.
The interfacial structure in a liquid crystal/nanoparticle nanocomposite is dictated by the type of nanoparticle and its functionalization compound. Nanocomposites consisting of smectic liquid crystals and nanoparticles have been studied for their applications in devices such as photovoltaics and to model biological devices. With the use of a model system, this paper presents evidence of an interfacial structure close to the vicinity of the nanoparticles that is more disordered than that of the bulk liquid crystal but is still in the smectic phase, and it seems to follow the faceting of the structure the nanoparticles adopt when they coalesce or recluster after the liquid crystal is added.
