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Abstract
FTIR spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and electro-optical measurements were used to study nanocomposites consisting of nematic liquid crystal (LC) ZLI-2293 and organophilic montmorillonite (MMT) nanoparticles. The initial MMT was modified by two different surfactants: octadecylbenzyldimethylammonium chloride (OBDM) and dioctadecylldimethylammonium chloride (DODM). According to spectroscopic results, Van der Waals interactions between the components of the LC/clay composites are stronger in OBDM-MMT case. AFM images of two types of the LC/clay nanocomposites showed different morphology consisting of large-scale structures. Correlation between the spectroscopic results and electro-optical behaviour of the LC/clay nanocomposites was observed. It was inferred that the memory effect is more pronounced for composites with OBDM-MMT due to colloid network formation, whereas the electro-optical contrast is higher for DODM-MMT, where the clay particles are not organized in any ordered structure.
Acknowledgements
This work was performed with financial support of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine under the programme ‘Nanophysics and Nanoelectronics’ (Project No. 5-06/H).