Nanoparticle enabled thermal control of ions in liquid crystals

Typically, ionic species in thermotropic liquid crystals are nearly fully ionised. Therefore, the concentration of mobile ions practically does not depend on the temperature. Interestingly, the same liquid crystals doped with nanoparticles exhibit totally different behaviour. The concentration of mobile ions become temperature dependent. This paper reports the effects of the temperature on the concentration of ions in liquid crystal nanocolloids. Liquid crystals doped with both 100% pure and contaminated nanoparticles are considered. Regardless the ionic purity of nanodopants, the concentration of mobile ions in liquid crystal nanocolloids increases towards the saturation as their temperature goes up. The magnitude of this saturation level equals the initial concentration of ions in liquid crystals doped with 100% pure nanoparticles. The temperature induced release of ions by contaminated nanoparticles in liquid crystals increases the above-mentioned saturation level. While the dispersion of 100% pure nanoparticles in liquid crystals leads to the temperature-dependent purification only, the use of contaminated nanoparticles results in the temperature-driven switching between the purification and contamination regimes enabling thermal control of ions.