Alignment of liquid crystal/carbon nanotube dispersions for application in unconventional computing

Massey, M.K.; Volpati, D.; Qaiser, F.; Kotsialos, A.; Pearson, C.; Zeze, D.A.; Petty, M.C.

Abstract

We demonstrate the manipulation of single-walled carbon nanotube/liquid crystal composites using in-plane electric fields. The conductivity of the materials is shown to be dependant on the application of a DC bias across the electrodes. When the materials are subjected to this in-plane field, it is suggested that the liquid crystals orientate, thereby forcing the SWCNTs to follow in alignment. This process occurs over many seconds, since the SWCNTs are significantly larger in size than the liquid crystals. The opportunity for applying this material to unconventional computing problems is suggested.

Citation

Massey, M., Volpati, D., Qaiser, F., Kotsialos, A., Pearson, C., Zeze, D., & Petty, M. (2015). Alignment of liquid crystal/carbon nanotube dispersions for application in unconventional computing. . https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4912538

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (Published)
• Conference Name: International Conference on Numercal Analysis and Applied Mathematics
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Apr 17, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 23, 2015
• Volume: 1648
• Series ISSN: 0094-243X,1551-7616
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4912538
• Keywords: Liquid crystal alignment, Carbon nanotubes, Unconventional computing.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1154040