Phase Behavior of Nanoparticles in a Thermotropic Liquid Crystal

Cristina da Cruz (1) , Olivier Sandre (1) , Valérie Cabuil (1)

1 LI2C - Liquides Ioniques et Interfaces Chargées

In this work, we describe the outstanding behavior of a nanocomposite system composed of the thermotropic liquid crystal 5CB doped with nanoparticles of the magnetic iron oxide maghemite (gamma-Fe2O3). We show that the I-N transition is associated with a reversible gathering of nanoparticles inside droplets of the ferronematic phase coexisting with a nonmagnetic nematic host phase.

Mots clés: ferronematics; ferrofluids; nanoparticles; liquid crystals; SAXS

Domaines: Matière Molle [cond-mat.soft]; Matériaux

Cristina da Cruz, Olivier Sandre, Valérie Cabuil. Phase Behavior of Nanoparticles in a Thermotropic Liquid Crystal. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2005, 109 (30), pp.14292-14299. ⟨10.1021/jp0455024⟩. ⟨hal-00016296⟩