title: Liquid crystalline polymer-Co nanorod hybrids: structural analysis and response to a magnetic field.
abstract: This work deals with the structural analysis of side-chain liquid crystalline polysiloxanes, doped with magnetic cobalt nanorods, and their orientational properties under a magnetic field. These new materials exhibit the original combination of orientational behavior and ferromagnetic properties at room temperature. Here we show that, within the liquid crystal polymer matrix, the cobalt nanorods self-assemble in bundles made of nanorod rows packed in a 2-dimensional hexagonal lattice. This structure accounts for the magnetic properties of the composites. The magnetic and orientational properties are discussed with respect to the nature of the polymer matrix.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Interactions Moléculaires et Réactivité Chimique et Photochimique, Université de Toulouse, UPS/CNRS , 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France.
authors.forename: Ophélie
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Riou
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lonetti
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: Reasmey P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cormary
authors.forename: Anne-Françoise
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Mingotaud
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Di Cola
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Respaud
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chaudret
authors.forename: Katerina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Soulantica
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mauzac