Enhancing the electro-optical properties of ferroelectric liquid crystals by doping ferroelectric nanoparticles

Abstract

The effects on the physical and electro-optical properties of ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLCs) after the doping of a dilute suspension of ferroelectric nanoparticles (BaTiO 3 ) have been studied. Due to the permanent electric dipole moments of the ferroelectric nanoparticles, the spontaneous polarisation of FLCs with low doping concentration was about twice that of pure FLCs, in addition to a significant improvement in the dielectric properties, the response time and the V-shaped switching in the chiral smectic C (SmC*) phase. The results obtained point the way to an alternative for improving the applicability of FLCs without resorting to chemical synthesis.

Electro-optic and dielectric studies of silica nanoparticle doped ferroelectric liquid crystal in SmC* phase

“…These factors include selection of materials, size, type, concentration, intrinsic characteristic and mutual interaction between NPs and LCs. Low concentration of NPs are usually preferred to yield a more stable and even distribution on the LCs, which lowers the interaction forces between the LC and NPs [24]. The size of NPs should be of comparable with the LCs, which would not cause serious disruption in the orderly arrangement of LCs.…”

Ferroelectric Colloids in Liquid Crystals

“…There are only few papers on this topic [54,55] till now, but they point to a strong effect of the particles. Liang et al [54] reported on almost doubling of the spontaneous polarization, enhancement of dielectric properties and faster response time in a ferroelectric LC CS1024 (Chisso) doped with BaTiO 3 ($30 nm size) in a small concentration.…”

“…There are only few papers on this topic [54,55] till now, but they point to a strong effect of the particles. Liang et al [54] reported on almost doubling of the spontaneous polarization, enhancement of dielectric properties and faster response time in a ferroelectric LC CS1024 (Chisso) doped with BaTiO 3 ($30 nm size) in a small concentration. Unlike them, Mikułko et al [55] observed only slightly lower spontaneous polarization and lower relative dielectric permittivity for the nanocomposite of BaTiO 3 ($30 nm size) in another ferroelectric LC LAHS9.…”

Threshold properties of nanodoped surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals under electric and magnetic fields

“…Recent developments show the effects of doping ferroelectric BaTiO 3 nanoparticles on the electro-optical properties of ferroelectric liquid crystals [17]. Li et al [18] proposed a model to show the interaction between ZnO nanoparticles and FLC molecules surrounding them and Huang et al [19] explored the importance of adding ZnO nanocrystals into the SSFLCs by probing the molecular binding of FLC molecules.…”