Effect of Magnetic Particles on Structural Changes and Magneto-Optical Behavior of Liquid Crystal

M. Veveričíka, P. Burya, P. Kopčanskýb, M. Timkob, V. Závišováb aDepartment of Physics, Žilina University, Univerzitná 1, 010 26 Žilina, Slovakia bInstitute of Experimental Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Watsonova 47, 040 01 Košice, Slovakia

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Structural changes in the nematic liquid crystal 6CHBT doped with a low concentration (1×10-4, 5×10-4) of magnetic nanorods induced by weak magnetic field in the increasing/decreasing mode, as well as in pulsed regime are investigated using surface acoustic waves and magneto-optical effect. The responses of both surface acoustic waves attenuation and optical transmission of the linearly polarized laser beam (532 nm) passing through the sample were investigated. The role of the concentration of magnetic nanorods on structural changes and corresponding magneto-optical behavior concerning the system stability and switching time under applied field was determined. The obtained results of both methods confirmed an effective orientational coupling between particles' magnetic moments and liquid crystal molecules and showed the effectivity of measurements relying on suspension stability and switching processes.

DOI:10.12693/APhysPolA.137.967 topics: liquid crystal, nanorods, magneto-optics, SAW