Liquid Crystals Nanocomposites for Photovoltaic Applications: Structural Properties

Nanocomposites consisting of liquid crystals and nanoparticles have been studied for their applications in devices, such as photovoltaics and to model biological devices. Understanding the structure the liquid crystal assumes in the vicinity of the nanoparticles, and how it compares to the bulk structure of the liquid crystals gives us an idea of how light, and electrons are transmitted from the liquid crystal to the nanoparticle and how sharp is this transmission. The structure depends on the functionalization (or lack of it) that the nanoparticle has and seems to reflect the faceting or the arrangement of the nanoparticle.