Journal | Langmuir |
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Date | Published - 30 Jul 2013 |
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Issue number | 30 |
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Volume | 29 |
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Pages (from-to) | 9301-9309 |
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Original language | English |
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Using transmittance electron microscopy, fluorescence and polarizing optical microscopy, optical spectroscopy, and fluorescent correlation spectroscopy, it was shown that CdSe/ZnS quantum dots coated with a specifically designed surfactant were readily dispersed in nematic liquid crystal (LC) to form stable colloids. The mixture of an alkyl phosphonate and a dendritic surfactant, where the constituent molecules contain promesogenic units, enabled the formation of thermodynamically stable colloids that were stable for at least 1 year. Stable colloids are formed due to minimization of the distortion of the LC ordering around the quantum dots.