Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol.113, No.19, 6647-6651, 2009
Fast Responding Robust Nematic Liquid Crystalline Gels Formed by a Monodisperse Dipeptide: Electro-Optic and Rheological Studies
Realization of mechanically robust electrically fast responding liquid crystal devices with low operating voltage is one of the current research interests. Here we report a gel system comprising a commercially available nematic liquid crystal material and a new monodisperse dipeptide liquid crystalline organogelator that results in these properties. The gels exhibit nearly 2 orders of magnitude faster switching response than the pure nematic liquid crystal while having 3 orders of magnitude higher zero shear rate viscosity, and with the attractive feature that the switching threshold voltage is hardly altered. Electro-optic and theological studies of this system are described here.