CARBON NANOTUBE DOPED LIQUID CRYSTALS

Liquid crystals are unique functional soft materials where the direction of alignment can be easily controlled by external fields or by suitably treated surfaces. This simplicity of control has made liquid crystals very attractive materials for applications, particularly as the active medium in displays. These properties open a route for inclusion of carbon nanotubes in liquid crystals where the host's liquid crystalline phase gives an ordering effect on the carbon nanotubes doped into it. This ordering of carbon nanotubes significantly enhances the liquid crystals electro-optic properties and other physical parameters. In this review paper we have briefly reviewed the research on dispersion and alignment of carbon nanotubes liquid crystalline phases.