Abstract
We investigated surface modification of zirconium oxide (ZrO_2) with an azobenzene carboxylic acid (8AB5COOH) and its effects on properties of particle/liquid-crystal composites. The surface modification was performed by sonication of calcined ZrO_2 with 8AB5COOH in acetone. Infrared spectra and elemental analysis showed that the surface coverage was 56 % as an average value. Effects of the surface modification on the properties of the composites with a liquid crystal (8CB) was evaluated by rheology, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarizing optical microscopy, and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Although no significant effects were observed in rheological and DSC measurements, shared samples containing modified particles showed a characteristic texture in smectic A phase. Furthermore, DLS measurements suggested interaction between modified particles and liquid crystal molecules which was not observed in the unmodified-particle/liquid-crystal composite.
