Evidence of nanodiamond-self-assembly in a liquid crystal, and the consequent impacts on the liquid crystal properties
Abstract
A small quantity of nanodiamonds (NDs) was dispersed in a nematic liquid crystal (LC), and the NDs were found to exhibit an anisotropic self-assembly along the nematic director. The anisotropic assembly of the NDs in the LC matrix was probed by measuring the dielectric anisotropy, Δε, of the LC+ND system, which showed a significant increase in Δε. Additional studies revealed that the presence of NDs reduced the rotational viscosity and the pretilt angle of the LC. The studies were carried out with several ND concentrations in the LC and the experimental results coherently suggest that there exists an optimal concentration of ND. Above this optimal ND concentration, the anisotropic assembly of the NDs was found to be not effective anymore. The rotational viscosity and the pretilt angle of the LC were found to increase above the optimal concentration of ND.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2017
- Source ID
- 10.1063/1.4993455
Entities
People
- Nicole Skaggs
- Peter G Brereton
- Rajratan Basu
- Samuel Shalov
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Naval Academy