Metal oxide-nanoparticles and liquid crystal composites: A review of recent progress

Abstract

Liquid Crystals (LCs) are soft materials lying in the midway between solids and liquids which have enjoyed considerable success due to their tremendous display and non-display applications in various areas of science and technology such as physics, chemistry, biology, material science, telecommunication etc. On the other hand, nanotechnology, an emerging research area, has brought revolutionary developments through its nanomaterials and nanoscale approaches creating enormous expectations over the number of years. In order to enhance various electro-optical, dielectric, physico-chemical properties, structural rearrangements of LCs, much work has been done through the incorporation of suitable nanoscale dopants into the host LC material. Metal oxide nanoparticles (MO-NPs) have attracted a great deal of interest on the grounds of their diverse properties in the recent times. Taking advantage of their varied desirable aspects, researchers have successfully dispersed suitable MO-NPs in LCs for winning noteworthy outcomes. In this review article, we have revisited successful doping of MO-NPs in LCs and observed that the doping established by mastering the intricacies of working with LCs and MO-NPs, their composites had resulted in desired and effective properties. This review deals with the detailed analysis of the contribution of MO-NPs in the domains of LCs and their applications. The focus in this work is laid on the doping effects of MO-NPs in various LCs and developing status of doping MO-NPs in LCs. The parameters which got affected after doping have also been summarized according to the type of MO-NPs doped. An extended analysis of the characteristics that were enhanced or suppressed after doping is systematically reviewed. Based on these discussions, possible future outcomes and prospects that might lead to major developments in the scientific technology regarding this work are put forward.