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Improvement in electro-optical and dielectric characteristics of ZnO nanoparticles dispersed in a nematic liquid crystal mixture

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Abstract

Reported herein is the effect of dispersion of a fixed amount of 0.5% (wt/wt) ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) in a nematic (E7) liquid crystal (LC) mixture. Dispersion of ZnO NPs results in a significant improvement in electro-optical and dielectric parameters of the nematic mixture. Comparative analysis of undoped and NP-dispersed samples shows a reduced threshold voltage with better transmittance without compromising dielectric permittivity characteristics. In addition, an increase in the contrast ratio, birefringence, alternating-current conductivity and band gap was observed after dispersion of ZnO NPs in LCs. A polarized optical microscopic study of the NP-dispersed sample substantiates a slight increase in nematic–isotropic phase transition temperature of LCs.

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Acknowledgements

The authors sincerely thank the Director, NIT Jalandhar for continuous encouragement and support. The authors also thank DST, SERB and CSIR India for financial support under the Project Numbers EMR/2016/003560 and CSIR/03-1451/18/EMR-II, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Liquid Crystal Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, Dr B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, 144011, India

    Amit Sharma & Praveen Malik

  2. Arni School of Technology, Arni University, Indora, 176401, India

    Amit Sharma

  3. Soft Material Research Laboratory, Centre of Material Sciences, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, 211002, India

    Ravindra Dhar

  4. Department of Applied Sciences, Chitkara University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Chitkara University, Jhansla, Rajpura, Patiala, 140401, India

    Pankaj Kumar

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  1. Amit Sharma
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  2. Praveen Malik
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Correspondence to Praveen Malik.

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Sharma, A., Malik, P., Dhar, R. et al. Improvement in electro-optical and dielectric characteristics of ZnO nanoparticles dispersed in a nematic liquid crystal mixture. Bull Mater Sci 42, 215 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12034-019-1902-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12034-019-1902-5

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