Controlled assembly of gold and silver nanoparticles using thermotropic amphiphilic and conventional liquid crystals

The optical and thermal properties of liquid crystalline (LC) nanocomposites, amphiphilic or conventional rod-like liquid crystals with suspended thiolate-protected metal nanoparticles, have been studied. Three different types of liquid crystals have been used, namely amphiphilic, bolaamphiphilic as well as conventional rod-like liquid crystals. Dispersion of thiolate-protected gold and silver nanoparticles produces LC nanocomposites with either increased (hydrophilic particles) or decreased LC phase stability with increasing particle content. Based on these observations we predict several structural models for the organizations of the immersed particles within the organized, yet fluid liquid crystalline supramolecular assemblies arising from microphase segregation effects of incompatible structural sub-units.