Fullerene-Based Nanosurfactant for the Automatic Homeotropic Alignment of Liquid Crystals

Chemically functionalized organic-inorganic hybrid nanoparticles have significant benefits for automatic liquid crystal (LC) alignment but are still limited to well-balanced self-assembly without wasting materials and deleterious aggregation for LC display. In this paper, we propose a promising homeotropic alignment (HA) guide nanosurfactant (C60D) consisting of different distinct molecular segments in LC affinity. By doping C60D into a nematic LC medium, the HA nanolayer is automatically constructed on the surface and guides the good alignment of LC molecules. Notably, this system exhibits exceptional material efficiency (0.01 wt %). Furthermore, it is demonstrated that an electro-optical switching modulator using C60D is reliably working. The precisely developed HA-guide C60D nanosurfactant will offer a way for LCD application as well as a useful guideline for designing nanomaterials.

Automated summary

Chemically functionalized organic-inorganic hybrid nanoparticles have been proposed for automatic liquid crystal (LC) alignment, but the challenge lies in achieving well-balanced self-assembly without wasting materials and causing harmful aggregation. In this paper, a promising homeotropic alignment (HA) nanosurfactant (C60D) with distinct molecular segments in LC affinity is introduced, which enables automatic construction of the HA nanolayer on the surface and guides the good alignment of LC molecules. The system exhibits exceptional material efficiency (0.01 wt %) and a reliable electro-optical switching modulator using C60D has been demonstrated. The developed HA-guide C60D nanosurfactant provides a way for LCD application and serves as a useful guideline for designing nanomaterials.