Twist-grain boundary phase induced by Au nanoparticles in a chiral liquid crystal host

Maja Trček (1) , George Cordoyiannis (1) , Brigita Rožič (1) , Vassilios Tzitzios (2) , George Nounesis (2) , Samo Kralj (3) , Ioannis Lelidis (4) , Emmanuelle Lacaze (5) , Heinz Amenitsch (6) , Zdravko Kutnjak (1)

1 Institut Josef Stefan
2 NCSR - National Center for Scientific Research "Demokritos"
3 IJS - Jozef Stefan Institute [Ljubljana]
4 NKUA - National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
5 INSP-E6 - Physico-chimie et dynamique des surfaces
6 TU Graz - Graz University of Technology [Graz]

We report on the stabilisation of the liquid-crystalline, twist-grain boundary A (TGBA) phase in mixtures of a chiral liquid crystal and surface-functionalised spherical Au nanoparticles (NPs) of 10 nm diameter. The results, obtained by calorimetric, optical, small-angle X-ray and plasmon resonance measurements, demonstrate that a TGBA phase, which is metastable for the pure liquid crystal host, can be effectively stabilised for a 3 K range in the presence of NPs. Moreover, the role of NPs size on the TGBA stabilisation is briefly discussed.

Domaines: Physique [physics]

Maja Trček, George Cordoyiannis, Brigita Rožič, Vassilios Tzitzios, George Nounesis, et al.. Twist-grain boundary phase induced by Au nanoparticles in a chiral liquid crystal host. Liquid Crystals, 2017, 44 (10), pp.1575-1581. ⟨10.1080/02678292.2017.1306887⟩. ⟨hal-01527841⟩