(3dk) Nanomaterials and Liquid Crystalline Systems: Dispersion and Characterization

As the discoveries of new nanoparticles, nanorods, nanosheets, and nanotubes continue, all with unique, highly useful properties, there is a push for researchers to develop techniques to characterize and image these particles as well as a push to build materials and applications to exploit these unique properties. My research thus far has focused on the characterization and imaging of carbon nanotubes and gold nanoparticles in liquid crystalline systems. Carbon nanotubes are extremely difficult to disperse in common solvents without functionalization or wrapping the nanotubes with surfactants or DNA; these additives can be detrimental to the properties of the final material. By dispersing carbon nanotubes in superacids no additives are necessary and dispersions result highly, aligned liquid crystalline solutions, which are ideal for creating materials of highly, aligned carbon nanotubes structures. However, in using the highly reactive superacids, characterization of the structures in solution were very challenging, but with the proper care and a bit of ingenuity, already developed techniques were used to characterize these dispersions. Lastly, gold nanoparticles were used to probe the liquid crystalline phase behavior of a common thermotropic liquid crystal at the nanoscale. A photothermal heterodyne imaging technique was implored to create the local phase change. The technique involves heating the nanoparticle with a modulated resonant laser which creates an index of refraction profile that diffracts a nonresonant probing laser to create a measurable signal. I hope to continue research in the area of nanoparticles and nanomaterials with focus in the area of renewable energy.