Oscillations of the orientational structure of a ferronematic liquid crystal in an elliptically polarized rotating magnetic field

Alternating current magnetic susceptibility of a ferronematic

We report on experimental studies focusing on the dynamic ac magnetic susceptibility of a ferronematic. It has been shown recently, that in the isotropic phase of a ferronematic, a weak dc bias magnetic field of a few oersteds increases the ac magnetic susceptibility. This increment vanishes irreversibly if the substance is cooled down to the nematic phase, but can be reinduced by applying the dc bias field again in the isotropic phase [Tomašovičová, N. et al. Soft Matter2016, 12, 5780-5786]. The effect has no analogue in the neat host liquid crystal. Here, we demonstrate that by doubling the concentration of the magnetic nanoparticles, the range of the dc bias magnetic field to which the ferronematic is sensitive without saturation can be increased by about two orders of magnitude. This finding paves a way to application possibilities, such as low magnetic field sensors, or basic logical elements for information storage.

Dynamic behavior of a nematic liquid crystal mixed with CoFe2O4 ferromagnetic nanoparticles in a magnetic field

The dynamic behavior of a mixture of 4-cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl (5CB) with 1% CoFe2O4 nanoparticles was analyzed. Experimental data indicate a high stability of the nematic director in the mixture compared to a reference 5CB sample in the magnetic field. The ferrite nanoparticles agglomerate forming long chains as observed in polarized microscopy images. These chains have a very high influence on the magneto-optic effect of the cell. When the magnetic field is applied on the mixture, the chains tend to align with the field direction but, due to their large size, they remain oriented obliquely between the support plates. Thus, the nematic molecules anchored on their surface can not reorient with the field and only a small distortion angle of the liquid crystal molecular director is observed. A comparison with a previously developed theoretical model confirms this small deviation.