Dispersion of multiferroic nanoparticles in a bent-core nematic liquid crystal : experimental and theoretical study

Tools

Mandal, Dhananjoy and Wang, Yiwei and Kaur, Supreet and Mohiuddin, Golam and Majumdar, Apala and Sinha, Aloka (2025) Dispersion of multiferroic nanoparticles in a bent-core nematic liquid crystal : experimental and theoretical study. Journal of Molecular Liquids. ISSN 0167-7322 (In Press)

[thumbnail of Mandal-etal-JML-2025-Dispersion-of-multiferroic-nanoparticles-in-a-bent-core-nematic-liquid-crystal] Text. Filename: Mandal-etal-JML-2025-Dispersion-of-multiferroic-nanoparticles-in-a-bent-core-nematic-liquid-crystal.pdf
Accepted Author Manuscript
Restricted to Repository staff only until 1 January 2099.
Download (6MB) | Request a copy

Abstract

A novel nanocomposite system has been prepared by dispersing multiferroic bismuth ferrite nanoparticles (BiFeO3) in a bent-core nematic liquid crystal (8-F-OH) that exhibits cybotactic clusters. Transition temperature, optical textures, order parameter (Sm), and dielectric spectroscopy experiments are performed in the doped system, and the results are compared with the pure one. The main experimental outcome is that the doped system has increased orientational order parameters, even though the cybotactic cluster size is reduced due to the incorporation of multiferroic BiFeO3 nanoparticles. The transition temperature, as observed under a polarising optical microscope, clearly indicates a reduction of 1 − 2 ◦C in the doped system compared to the pure one, and we conjecture this is due to the disordering of the cybotactic cluster in the doped system. Based on the experimental findings, a Landau-de Gennes-type free energy model is developed. The model qualitatively explains the increased mean order parameter and the disordering of cybotactic clusters with increasing polarization value of nanoparticles. This is corroborated by experimental findings.

ORCID iDs

Mandal, Dhananjoy, Wang, Yiwei, Kaur, Supreet, Mohiuddin, Golam, Majumdar, Apala ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4802-6720 and Sinha, Aloka;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)