Effective permittivity of liquid crystal nanodispersions and composites with different pore structure

The volume filling fraction dependence of the effective permittivity of the nematic liquid crystal 4-n-pentyl-4’-cyanobiphenyl embedded in different porous membranes and dispersed with aerosil nanoparticles was determined using broadband dielectric spectroscopy in the frequency range from 10⁶ to 10⁹ Hz. The experimental data were analyzed and compared with some existing theories based on the effective medium approximation and their modifications. The obtained effective permittivities as a function of the volume filling fraction lie between the lower limits of the Wiener and Hashin–Shtrikman bounds. The observed shift of the experimental points reflects the changes in the structure of the investigated composites.