title: Orientational order of carbon nanotube guests in a nematic host suspension of colloidal viral rods.
abstract: In order to investigate the coupling between the degrees of alignment of elongated particles in binary nematic dispersions, surfactant stabilized single-wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been added to nematic suspensions of colloidal rodlike viruses in aqueous solution. We have independently measured the orientational order parameter of both components of the guest-host system by means of polarized Raman spectroscopy and by optical birefringence, respectively. Our system allows us therefore to probe the regime where the guest particles (CNTs) are shorter and thinner than the fd virus host particles. We show that the degree of order of the CNTs is systematically smaller than that of the fd virus particles for the whole nematic range. These measurements are in good agreement with predictions of an Onsager-type second-viral theory, which explicitly includes the flexibility of the virus particles, and the polydispersity of the CNTs.
authors.affiliation: Université de Bordeaux et CNRS, Centre de Recherche Paul-Pascal, 115 Avenue Schweitzer, 33600 Pessac, France.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Puech
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dennison
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blanc
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: van der Schoot
authors.forename: Marjolein
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dijkstra
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: van Roij
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Poulin
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grelet