Abstract
FTIR spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and electro-optical measurements were used to study nanocomposites consisting of nematic liquid crystal (LC) ZLI-2293 and organophilic montmorillonite (MMT) nanoparticles. The initial MMT was modified by two different surfactants: octadecylbenzyldimethylammonium chloride (OBDM) and dioctadecylldimethylammonium chloride (DODM). According to spectroscopic results, Van der Waals interactions between the components of the LC/clay composites are stronger in OBDM-MMT case. AFM images of two types of the LC/clay nanocomposites showed different morphology consisting of large-scale structures. Correlation between the spectroscopic results and electro-optical behaviour of the LC/clay nanocomposites was observed. It was inferred that the memory effect is more pronounced for composites with OBDM-MMT due to colloid network formation, whereas the electro-optical contrast is higher for DODM-MMT, where the clay particles are not organized in any ordered structure.
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