Orientation in Nematic Liquid Crystals Doped with Orange Dyes and Effect of Carbon Nanoparticles

Some properties of nematic liquid crystal E7 doped with two disperse orange dyes used together and effect of addition of carbon nanoparticles (single walled carbon nanotube or fullerene C₆₀) on them were studied. Two dyes (disperse orange 11 and 13) having high solubility and order parameter were used as co-dopants. A notable increase in order pa-rameter was obtained comparing to that of liquid crystal doped with single dye. When carbon nanoparticles were used as dopant, a decrease in order parameter was observed at low temperatures while it increased at high temperatures. When applied voltage changed, the order parameter abruptly increased in its threshold value and saturated in higher voltages as expected. An appreciable change in textures was not observed with addition of dopants. This addition gave rise to an increase in nematic-isotropic phase transition temperatures compared with that of pure liquid crystal.