title: Soft magnets from the self-organization of magnetic nanoparticles in twisted liquid crystals.
abstract: Organizing magnetic nanoparticles into long-range and dynamic assemblies would not only provide new insights into physical phenomena but also open opportunities for a wide spectrum of applications. In particular, a major challenge consists of the development of nanoparticle-based materials for which the remnant magnetization and coercive field can be controlled at room temperature. Our approach consists of promoting the self-organization of magnetic nanoparticles in liquid crystals (LCs). Using liquid crystals as organizing templates allows us to envision the design of tunable self-assemblies of magnetic nanoparticles, because liquid crystals are known to reorganize under a variety of external stimuli. Herein, we show that twisted liquid crystals can be used as efficient anisotropic templates for superparamagnetic nanoparticles and demonstrate the formation of hybrid soft magnets at room temperature.
authors.affiliation: MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology (BNT), University of Twente, PO Box 207, 7500 AE Enschede (The Netherlands).
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Matt
authors.forename: Kirsten M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Pondman
authors.forename: Sarah J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Asshoff
authors.forename: Bennie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ten Haken
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fleury
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Katsonis
mesh_terms: D016880:Anisotropy; D050866:Liquid Crystals / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008280:Magnetics; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles
keywords: liquid crystals; nanoparticles; polymer networks; self-assembly; smart materials