Event
MSE Seminar Series: Christopher M. Lavelle
Friday, October 11, 2013
1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.
Room 2110, Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Bldg
JoAnne Kagle
301-405-5240
jkagle@umd.edu
Liquid Crystals Nanocomposites for Photovoltaic Applications: Structural Properties in the Vicinity of the Nanoparticles
L. J. Martínez-Miranda
Associate Professor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
University of Maryland
Nanocomposites consisting of liquid crystals and nanoparticles have been studied for their applications in devices, such as photovoltaics and to model biological devices. Understanding the structure the liquid crystal assumes in the vicinity of the nanoparticles, and how it compares to the bulk structure of the liquid crystals gives us an idea of how light, and electrons are transmitted from the liquid crystal to the nanoparticle and how sharp is this transmission. The structure depends on the functionalization (or lack of it) that the nanoparticle has and seems to reflect the faceting or the arrangement of the nanoparticle. We present in this talk the results in a model system consisting of the liquid crystals octyl-cyano-biphenyl (8CB) and different nanoparticles plus the first results on two azo-liquid crystals.
