Specific features of luminescence quenching in a nematic liquid crystal doped with nanoparticles

The change in the intensity of the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of nematic liquid crystal (NLC) composites as a function of the concentration of CdSe/ZnS semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) and TiO₂ and ZrO₂ nanoparticles ~5 nm in diameter has been investigated. It is shown that the PL-quenching intensity in composites with CdSe/ZnS QDs exceeds that in composites with TiO₂ and ZrO₂ nanoparticles. The lowfrequency spectra of these composites with a concentration of 0.1 wt %, recorded in the range of 10²–10³ Hz, and the content of mobile ions in them have been investigated. It is found that the dielectric loss in the composite with CdSe/ZnS QDs is much higher and the content of mobile ions is larger by a factor of 3 than in the composites with TiO₂ and ZrO₂ nanoparticles. It is shown that an increase in the CdSe/ZnS QD concentration in NLC composites leads to an increase in the dielectric loss and a decrease in the PL intensity. Possible mechanisms of the interaction between NLC molecules and CdSe/ZnS QDs are discussed.     

Inhomogeneous nematic-isotropic phase transition of a thermotropic liquid crystal doped with iron oxide nanoparticles

We elucidate the local distribution and aggregated structure of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs; 6 nm in diameter) doped in the matrix of a nematic liquid crystal (LC), 4-cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl, utilizing in situ cryogenic transmission electron microscopy and polarized light microscopy. We show that tens of IONPs aggregate into a sphere-like morphology, and the aggregates combine into elongated clusters with a length of hundreds of nm. With the IONP-doped LC matrix confined to a thin glass cell, we study the nematic-isotropic (N-I) phase transition, and suggest that local heterogeneity of LC textures as seen in polarized microscopy is caused by the existence of IONP aggregate clusters. These clusters act also as nuclei for the formation of isotropic domains upon heating.     

Improved dielectric and electro-optical parameters of nematic liquid crystal doped with magnetic nanoparticles

This study investigates the effect of magnetic nanoparticles(NPs) on the weakly polar nematic liquid crystal(NLC).Different parameters of dielectric data were measured for both the homeotropic and planar aligned samples as a function of frequency and temperature and the substantial changes have been noticed for the doped systems. Dielectric permittivity has been increased after the dispersion of magnetic NPs in the pure NLC. Dielectric anisotropy has also been influenced by incorporating the magnetic NPs with the NLC molecules. These results were attributed to the dipole–dipole interaction between the magnetic nanoparticles and nematic liquid crystal molecules. Electro-optical study indicated the faster rise time and fall time of the doped systems as compare to pure NLC. Threshold voltage has been calculated and found to be decreased for the doped systems. Moreover, we have also calculated the rotational viscosity and the splay elastic constant for pure and the doped systems. Both the rotational viscosity and splay elastic constant of the doped systems are found to be considerably lower than those of pure NLC. Change in these properties has been explained on the basis of molecular disturbances created by the interaction between the magnetic nanoparticle and LC director. This study reveals that the inclusion of magnetic NPs in weakly polar NLC can be useful to enhance the basic properties of the weakly polar NLC and make it a promising material for many display applications.     

The influence of surface effects on Frederiks transition in nematic liquid crystal doped with ferroelectric nanoparticles

Motivated by our recent work,in this work,we present the numerical study of the anchoring effect on the Frederiks threshold field in a nematic liquid crystal doped with ferroelectric colloidal nanoparticles.Assuming weak anchoring conditions,we employ the relaxation method and Maxwell construction to numerically solve the Euler–Lagrangian differential equation for the total free energy together the Rapini–Papoular surface energy to take into account anchoring of nematic liquid crystal molecules at the substrates.In this study,we focus our attention on obtaining the phase diagrams of Frederiks transition for different values of anchoring strength which have been not computed in our previous work.In this way,the effect of nanoparticle radius,nanoparticle volume fraction,nanoparticle polarization,and cell thickness on the Frederiks transition for different values of anchoring conditions are summarized in the phase diagrams.The numerical results show that by increasing the nanoparticles size and nanoparticle volume fraction in the ferronematic system,the Frederiks threshold field is strongly reduced.     

Thermal orientation effect in a nematic liquid crystal

The system of equations describing the thermal orientation effect in nonchiral liquid crystals, which was observed earlier, is proposed and substantiated. The effect of the director reorientation under the action of the temperature gradient is in many ways analogous to the Freedericksz transition in electric or magnetic fields. The angle of deviation of the director from the initial position is determined by the square of the temperature gradient. The effect is observed for a nematic liquid crystal, initially uniformly oriented, and is not accompanied by macroscopic fluxes of the medium under stationary conditions.     

On the design of a Nd doped silica fiber-laser using a cholesteric liquid crystal mirror

We report operation of a Nd³⁺-doped fiber-laser using a cholesteric liquid crystal acting as a narrow band reflector. The aim of this work is to apply to a fiber-laser the particular optical properties of an helical structure, whatever is the medium exhibiting this structure, either a liquid crystal or either any other material. The advantage of the use of these mediums in the design of fiber-lasers is that they can favourably take the place, in an easy and compact way, of several optical elements such as a polarizer and a quarter-wave plate at one and the same time. This technology promises to design rugged compact low cost tunable coherent sources the lasing range of which can easily be adjusted. We emphasize here the particular part played by the cholesteric liquid crystal-glass interface in the laser action of the fiber. Received 21 October 1999 and Received in final form 7 February 2000     

Effect of an electric field on the orientation of a liquid crystal in a cell with a nonuniform director distribution

The electric field-induced reorientation of a nematic liquid crystal in cells with a planar helicoidal or a homeoplanar structure of a director field is studied theoretically and experimentally. The dependences of the capacitances of these systems on the voltage in an applied electric field below and above the Fréedericksz threshold are experimentally obtained and numerically calculated. The calculations use the director distribution in volume that is obtained by direct minimization of free energy at various voltages. The inhomogeneity of the electric field inside a cell is taken into account. The calculation results are shown to agree with the experimental data.     

Existence, stability and structure of a hexagonal phase doped with nanoparticles

We describe and study by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) a new type of hybrid system. It is composed of a swollen lyotropic hexagonal phase into the cylinders of which solid magnetic particles of nanometric size have been incorporated. It has been found to be stable for volume fractions of particles up to 2% provided the cylinders are sufficiently large. A unidimensionnal magnetic liquid is thus realized. The structural properties of this colloidal assembly have been investigated by SAXS, and the specific features of the scattering spectra are analysed and interpreted. One of the remarkable results is the evidence of depletion interactions between the particles and the inner walls of the cylinders inside which particles are located. Received: 4 September 1997 / Revised: 14 October 1997 / Accepted: 19 November 1997     

Molecular orientation in nematic liquid crystal films with two free surfaces

The director orientation in nematic layers with two free surfaces has been studied by optical methods for different thicknesses of the film. A sharp structure transition, obtained by reducing the thickness of the film under a critical value, is reported for the first time. The same structural transition for fixed thickness is also shown to occur below a critical temperature.     

On the stability of a focused azimuthally homogeneous electron beam

The self-consistent field method is used to study the stability of an azimuthally homogeneous electron beam moving in a cylindrical resonator in a focusing magnetic field. Dispersion relations are derived and the harmonics of possible oscillations and the growth rates of resonance instabilities are determined.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii Fizika, No. 7, pp. 32–37, July, 1971.     

Reorientation of the liquid crystal director in a Hele-Shaw cell

Reorientation of the liquid crystal (LC) director due to hydrodynamical motions in a Hele-Shaw cell is studied theoretically. These motions arise when LC is pushed by viscous stress of a less viscous fluid or gas (e.g., air). We have obtained the value of 1 rad for the probe light wave phase change at the LC film thickness of 100 μm and pressure gradient of dp/dx = 10⁻⁵ Pa/m in the air.     

Electric field quenching of thermal fluctuations of orientation in a nematic liquid crystal

Using Rayleigh scattering and light beating spectroscopy, we observe the thermally excited angular fluctuations of the di-rector in the nematic phase of MBBA (p-methoxybenzylidene-p-n-butyl-aniline) in presence of a stabilizing a.c. electric field. Both the intensity and damping time of these fluctuations are found to decrease when increasing the field intensity, allowing the measurement of the bend Frank elastic constant.     

Dielectric and electro-optical studies of a nickel-ferrite-nanoparticle- doped ferroelectric liquid crystal mixture

Effect of magnetic nanoparticles (nickel ferrite) doping on the dielectric and electro-optical properties of a ferroelectric liquid crystal mixture has been studied. In a doped ferroelectric liquid crystal mixture, dispersion of a small amount (0.25 wt.%) of nickel ferrite nanoparticles decreases the polarization and improves the response time compared to an undoped mixture. The significant changes in the polarization and response time are explained on the basis of dipole–dipole interaction and anchoring phenomena. Dielectric permittivity also increases with increasing the temperature of the SmC* phase and shows a reduction in dielectric loss in a doped sample. A Goldstone mode is clearly observed at ～200 and ～500 Hz in an undoped and a doped sample, respectively.     

Magneto-optical effect of TEB30A liquid crystal doped with thulium oxides

The influences of an external magnetic field on the optical properties of the TEB30A nematic liquid crystal doped with thulium oxides （Gd203, Dy203, Nd203, Y203, and Sm203） are studied. It is shown that a magnetic field applied parallelly to the sample cell surface leads to the rotational orientation of mesogenes. All samples except for the sample doped with Sm203 nanoparticles undergo structural deformations. The behavior of the TEB30A/Sm203 differs from those of the TEB30A liquid crystal doped with other four nanoparticles. The presence of Sm203 nanoparticles in the TEB30A liquid crystal does not cause the structural deformation of the liquid crystal matrix. At the same time, the anchoring type of the liquid crystal molecules on the nanoparticle surface is different. The director n is parallel to the magnetic moment/~ in the TEB30A/Sm203, and inclined to the magnetic moment/~ in the TEB30A/Nd203, and perpendicular to the magnetic moment/~ in each of TEB30A/Gd203, TEB30A/Dy203, and TEB30A/Y203. Besides, the dependence of the structural deformation on the critical magnetic field for the TEB30A is obtained.     

SiO2 nanoparticles doped nematic liquid crystal system: An experimental investigation on optical and dielectric properties

The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of silica (SiO₂) nanoparticles (NPs) on optical and dielectric properties of BBEA nematic liquid crystal (NLC). For optical analysis the photoluminescence (PL) and UV-absorbance experiments have been performed. The doped system is showing enhancement in the intensity of photoluminescence with varying concentration of nanoparticles. A red shift is observed in the emission spectra of NLC doped with silica nanoparticles. The PL emission peak of NLC is observed at 377.3 nm which is shifted to 379.7 nm in the presence of silica nanoparticles. We have also observed the enhancement in the value of UV absorption for silica doped systems in comparison to the pure system. Energy band gap of pure and doped systems has been calculated and it is found that the energy band gap is decreasing with concentration which is a promising result of this study. The dielectric parameters of the pure and doped NLC systems were carried out as a function of frequency and temperature. Different dielectric parameters such as relative permittivity, loss factor and dielectric conductivity have been measured. The pure and silica nanoparticles doped systems has shown decreased value of dielectric permittivity and loss factor at lower frequency region and at higher frequency regions these values became constant. The value of relative permittivity also decreases with concentration. The increased value of a.c. conductivity for doped systems can be utilized in device designing. Moreover, the temperature dependence of the birefringence (Δn) was determined from the transmitted intensity of light for pure and doped systems and the improvement in its value for both composites has been observed. Improved value of birefringence has pronounced applications in optical devices.     

Optical-field-induced reorientation of nematic liquid crystal doped with FeTPPCl based on the resonant model

Optical-field-induced reorientation of 5CB doped with a 1% volume fraction of FeTPPCl (5,10,15,20–tetraphenylporphineiron(III) chloride) were studied. When excited by Ti:sapphire laser with an 82 MHz repetition rate and a 80 fs pulse duration, the reorientation threshold occurred at an intensity level of 1 mW/mm² for the resonant absorption region, in contrast to the 115 mW/mm² value for the transparent region. A guest resonant model is proposed to explain this anomalous phenomenon: when excited by absorbing light, the FeTPPCl molecule produces an intense resonance absorption which induces a very large dielectric anisotropy, and this therefore enhances the reorientation of the doped system. This phenomenon is very useful for using the liquid crystal as a nonlinear optical component. PACS 61.30; 64.70.Md     

On the stability of crystal growth

We investigate properties of solid-on-solid models for crystal growth, involving general microscopic rates of capture of atoms by the crystal surface and of escape of atoms. The rates in this Markov process influence the stability of the growing surface. We prove, for various different ranges of the rate parameters, stability (i.e., ergodicity) and instability (i.e., nullity) of the growth process. Symmetry properties of the process, such as reversibility, dynamic reversibility, and reflection invariance, are proved or disproved under various conditions. We give a measure of surface smoothness that distinguishes between stable and unstable growth.