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Field controlled nematic-to-isotropic phase transition in liquid crystal-carbon nanotube composites
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Field controlled nematic-to-isotropic phase transition in liquid crystal-carbon nanotube composites

Hemang Shah, Adam Fontecchio, Davide Mattia and Yury Gogotsi
Journal of applied physics, v 103(6), pp 064314-064314-5
25 Mar 2008
url
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2844384View
Published, Version of Record (VoR)Maybe Open Access (Publisher Bronze) Open

Abstract

A nematic-to-isotropic transition has been observed in suspensions of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and a cyanobiphenyl-based liquid crystal (LC) confined within an indium tin oxide glass sandwich cell. Upon the application of electric field, CNTs rotate out of plane short-circuiting the electrodes and producing a current flow through the CNTs. The resulting Joule heating leads to a local increase in temperature of the LC-CNT medium. Hence, starting from a metastable nematic phase, a complete transition to the isotropic phase is observed. On removal of the electric field, the transition is reversed with the LC-CNT medium returning to the nematic phase.

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Physics, Applied
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