On the Analogy between Electrolytes and Ion-Generating Nanomaterials in Liquid Crystals.

Yuriy Garbovskiy

doi:10.3390/nano10030403

Abstract

Nanomaterials in liquid crystals are a hot topic of contemporary liquid crystal research. An understanding of the possible effects of nanodopants on the properties of liquid crystals is critical for the development of novel mesogenic materials with improved functionalities. This paper focuses on the electrical behavior of contaminated nanoparticles in liquid crystals. More specifically, an analogy between electrolytes and ion-generating nanomaterials in liquid crystals is established. The physical consequences of this analogy are analyzed. Under comparable conditions, the number of ions generated by nanomaterials in liquid crystals can be substantially greater than the number of ions generated by electrolytes of similar concentration.

Highlights

Ions in liquid crystals have been studied since the early 1960s because of their strong effects on the electrooptical response of mesogenic materials [1,2].Early liquid-crystal display (LCD) technologies utilized the dynamic light scattering caused by electrohydrodynamic instabilities in nematic materials [3,4,5]
The ion-generating properties of electrolytes and contaminated nanomaterials in liquid crystals can be reasonably compared if they are characterized by the same molar concentration cel = cNP and similar rate constants kd = kD and ka = kR
Once dispersed in liquid crystals, contaminated nanomaterials can act as ion-generating objects

Summary

Introduction

Ions in liquid crystals have been studied since the early 1960s because of their strong effects on the electrooptical response of mesogenic materials [1,2].Early liquid-crystal display (LCD) technologies utilized the dynamic light scattering caused by electrohydrodynamic instabilities in nematic materials [3,4,5]. The ion-generating properties of electrolytes and contaminated nanomaterials in liquid crystals can be reasonably compared if they are characterized by the same molar concentration cel = cNP and similar rate constants kd = kD and ka = kR.

Results

Conclusion