Physico-chemical and electro-optical properties of liquid crystals doped with chemically modified nanocline minerals

Abstract

The object of study is nematic and smectic (ferroelectric) liquid crystals containing chemically modified nanoclay based on montmorillonite. The aim of the work is to develop new composite materials with improved physico-chemical and electro-optical properties. During the study, chemical methods were developed for modification of the surface of nanoclay; the mesomorphic, dielectric, and electro-optical properties of nematic and ferroelectric compositions doped with a nanoclay with a modified surface are studied. On the basis of experimental data, the regularities of the influence of functional groups grafted onto the surface of nanoclay on the mesomorphic, dielectric and electro-optical properties of nematic and ferroelectric compositions are established. It has been shown experimentally that the addition of a small amount of nanoclay to a nematic and ferroelectric liquid crystal material can significantly improve the electro-optical response time and reduce the threshold and saturation voltage values. For ferroelectric liquid crystals, the addition of nanoclay leads to an increase in the tilt angle in the layer and an increase in spontaneous polarization.