Eur. Phys. J. E (2011) 34: 35
https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2011-11035-6

Effect of conducting polymer poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanotubes on electro-optical and dielectric properties of a ferroelectric liquid crystal

¹ Department of Spectroscopy, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 700032, Kolkata, India
² Centre for Advanced Material, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 700032, Kolkata, India
³ Polymer Science Unit, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 700032, Kolkata, India
⁴ Department of Physics, University of Kalyani, 741235, West Bengal, India

^* e-mail: spskr@iacs.res.in

Received: 27 October 2010
Accepted: 24 February 2011
Published online: 8 April 2011

Abstract

A detailed comparative study of the dielectric and electro-optical properties of a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) and FLC after having doped with conducting polymer Poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanotubes is done. The electro-optic study reveals a lower electrical response time, rotational viscosity and spontaneous polarization in the FLC/PEDOT nanocomposite system. By fitting the capacitance with voltage in a Preisach model, four dipolar species in both FLC and composites system have been obtained. The orientation of the four dipolar species in the composites system is such that the effective dipole moment in the transverse direction of the FLC molecule is less than that in FLC compound.