Phase Behavior of Nanoparticles in a Thermotropic Liquid Crystal

International audienceIn this work, we describe the outstanding behavior of a nanocomposite system composed of the thermotropic liquid crystal 5CB doped with nanoparticles of the magnetic iron oxide maghemite (gamma-Fe2O3). We show that the I-N transition is associated with a reversible gathering of nanoparticles inside droplets of the ferronematic phase coexisting with a nonmagnetic nematic host phase