Showing papers by "Samo Kralj published in 2010"

Nanoparticle-induced widening of the temperature range of liquid-crystalline blue phases

Abstract: Liquid-crystalline blue phases exhibit exceptional properties for applications in the display and sensor industry. However, in single component systems, they are stable only for very narrow temperature range between the isotropic and the chiral nematic phase, a feature that severely hinders their applicability. Systematic high-resolution calorimetric studies reveal that blue phase III is effectively stabilized in a wide temperature range by mixing surface-functionalized nanoparticles with chiral liquid crystals. This effect is present for two liquid crystals, yielding a robust method to stabilize blue phases, especially blue phase III. Theoretical arguments show that the aggregation of nanoparticles at disclination lines is responsible for the observed effects.

Liquid crystal-carbon nanotubes mixtures

Abstract: The self-organizing properties of nematic liquid crystals (LCs) can be used to align carbon nanotubes (CNTs) dispersed in them. In the previous paper [P. van der Schoot, V. Popa-Nita, and S. Kralj, J. Phys. Chem. B 112, 4512 (2008)], we have considered the weak anchoring limit of the nematic LC molecules at the nanotube's surface, where the CNT alignment is caused by the anisotropic interfacial tension of the nanotubes in the nematic host fluid. In this paper, we present the theoretical results obtained for strong enough anchoring at the CNT-LC interface for which the nematic ordering around nanotube is apparently distorted. Consequently, relatively strong long-range and anisotropic interactions can emerge within the system. In order to get insight into the impact of LC ordering on the alignment of nanotubes we treat the two mixture components on the same footing and combine Landau-de Gennes free energy for the thermotropic ordering of the liquid crystal and Doi free energy for lyotropic nematic ordering of carbon nanotubes caused by their mutually excluded volume. The phase ordering of the binary mixture is analyzed as a function of the volume fraction of the carbon nanotubes, the strength of coupling, and the temperature. We find that the degree of ordering of the nanorods can be tuned by raising or lowering the temperature or by increasing or decreasing their concentration.

Blue phase III widening in CE6-dispersed surface-functionalised CdSe nanoparticles

Abstract: The phase transition behaviour of the chiral liquid crystal CE6 doped with spherical surface-functionalised CdSe nanoparticles has been examined by means of high-resolution adiabatic scanning calorimetry and polarising microscopy. The addition of nanoparticles results in an essentially stabilised blue phase III. The phase diagram is displayed upon heating and cooling and the enthalpy changes involved in the conversion between the blue phases are determined. The dispersion of functionalised nanoparticles is prominent for the stabilisation of blue phase III, which is potentially useful for applications, especially if applied on liquid crystals that exhibit blue phases close to room temperature.

Finite-size effects on order reconstruction around nematic defects.

Abstract: By use of the Landau\char21{}de Gennes phenomenological theory, we study the texture of a nematic liquid crystal confined within a hybrid cell. Precisely, we consider cylindrically symmetric solutions containing topological defects dictated by appropriate boundary conditions. We focus our attention on cells whose dimensions are comparable with the biaxial correlation length ${\ensuremath{\xi}}_{b}$. For such severe confinements the order reconstruction (OR) configuration could be stable. Its structural details reflect the balance among boundary-enforced frustration, elastic penalties, and finite-size effects. In particular, we analyze the interplay between finite-size effects and topological defects. We show that defects are always pinned to the negatively (planar) uniaxial sheet of the OR structure. The presence of a ring defect can dramatically increase the critical threshold below which the OR structure is stable.

Orientational Order-Magnetization Coupling in Mixtures of Magnetic Nanoparticles and the Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal

Abstract: We have studied the ferroelectric SmC* phase of SCE9 ferroelectric liquid crystal (LC) mixtures with magnetic nanoparticles (NPs). The impact of the NPs on the Goldstone and soft mode dielectric response has been determined by the dielectric spectroscopy measurements. The possible indirect coupling between the magnetic moments and the electrical polarization has been verified by measuring the impact of the electrical field on the magnetic susceptibility via SQUID susceptometer measurements. The disordering effects on the ferroelectric phase transition have been studied by the high resolution calorimetry. Similar disordering effects have been found as in the case of the aerosil particles [1, 2].

Competition between local disordering and global ordering fields in nematic liquid crystals

Abstract: We study the influence of external electric or magnetic field B on orientational ordering of nematic liquid crystals or of other rod-like objects (e.g. nanotubes immersed in a liquid) in the presence of random anisotropy field type of disorder. The Lebwohl-Lasher lattice type of semi-microscopic approach is used at zero temperature. Therefore, results are valid well below the transition into the isotropic phase. We calculate the correlation function of systems as a function of B, concentration p of impurities imposing random anisotropy field disorder, the disorder strength W and system dimensionality (2D and 3D systems). In order to probe memory effects we calculate correlation length ξ for random and homogeneous initial configurations. We determine the crossover fields B(c)(p) separating roughly the ordered and disordered regime. Memory effects are apparent only in the latter case, i.e. for B < B(c).PACS numbers: 47.51.+a, 47.54.-r, 07.05.Tp, 61.30.-v.

Phase Ordering in Mixtures of Liquid Crystals and Nanoparticles

Abstract: We have studied the coupling interaction between liquid crystal (LC) molecules and nanoparticles (NPs) in LC=NPs mixtures. Using a simple phenomenological approach, possible structures of the coupling term are derived for strongly anisotropic NPs. The coupling terms include (i) an interaction term promoting the mutual ordering of the LC molecules and the NPs, and (ii) the Flory-Huggins-type term enforcing the phase separation. Both contributions exhibit the same scaling dependence on the diameter of the NPs. However, these terms only exist for a finite degree of nematic LC ordering. The magnetic response due to the LC-NPs coupling is probed experimentally for a mixture of weakly anisotropic magnetic NPs and a ferroelectric LC. A finite coupling effect was observed in the ferroelectric LC phase, suggesting such systems can be used as soft magnetoelectrics.

Stability and Metastability in Nematic Glasses: a Computational Study

Abstract: The influence of randomly distributed impurities on liquid crystal (LC) orientational ordering is studied using a simple Lebwohl-Lasher type lattice model in two (d=2) and three (d=3) dimensions. The impurities of concentration p impose a random anisotropy field-type of disorder of strength w to the LC nematic phase. Orientational correlations can be well presented by a single coherence length ξ for a weak enough w. We show that the Imry-Ma scaling prediction w ξ α w− /2(4 −d) holds true if the LC configuration is initially quenched from the isotropic phase. For other initial configurations the scaling is in general not obeyed.