Effect of anisotropic MoS2 nanoparticles on the blue phase range of a chiral liquid crystal

Appl Opt. 2013 Aug 1;52(22):E47-52. doi: 10.1364/AO.52.000E47.

Abstract

Liquid-crystalline blue phases are attracting significant interest due to their potential for applications related to tunable photonic crystals and fast optical displays. In this work a brief theoretical model is presented accounting for the impact of anisotropic nanoparticles on the blue phase stability region. This model is tested by means of high-resolution calorimetric and optical measurements of the effect of anisotropic, surface-functionalized MoS2 nanoparticles on the blue phase range of a chiral liquid crystal. The addition of these nanoparticles effectively increases the temperature range of blue phases and especially the cubic structure of blue phase I.