Orientational coupling amplification in ferroelectric nematic colloids.
We investigated the physical properties of low concentration ferroelectric nematic colloids, using calorimetry, optical methods, infrared spectroscopy, and capacitance studies. The resulting homogeneous colloids possess a significantly amplified nematic orientational coupling. We find that the nematic orientation coupling increases by approximately 10% for particle concentrations of 0.2%. A manifestation of the increased orientational order is that the clearing temperature of a nematic colloid increases by up to 40 degrees C compared to the pure liquid crystal host. A theoretical model is proposed in which the ferroelectric particles induce local dipoles whose effective interaction is proportional to the square of the orientational order parameter.
Li
Fenghua
F
Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA.
Buchnev
Oleksandr
O
Cheon
Chae Il
CI
Glushchenko
Anatoliy
A
Reshetnyak
Victor
V
Reznikov
Yuri
Y
Sluckin
Timothy J
TJ
West
John L
JL