Alignment of MoS2 Nanotubes in a Photopolymerizable Liquid–Crystalline Material

Abstract

We investigated the orientational distribution of MoS2 nanotubes incorporated into a commercial photoreactive liquid–crystalline medium. Electron microscopy imaging and Raman spectroscopy measurements show that interaction with the liquid–crystalline host induces strong directional alignment of the nanotubes. The obtained alignment is “frozen” into the structure by subsequent photopolymerization reaction, which on one hand prevents agglomeration and on the other hand produces a solid composite film with controlled orientation of the nanotubes. Analysis of the mechanical properties shows that by addition of 0.1 wt % nanotubes the elastic modulus of the films is increased by 35%. Our results demonstrate that the nanotube alignment approach based on photopolymerizable liquid–crystalline media, which is relatively inefficient for carbon nanotubes, might be much more promising for inorganic nanotubes.