Effects of CdTe Quantum Dot Dispersal on Current-Voltage Characteristics in Liquid Crystalline Mediums of E63, E7 and SCLP

The usage of nano-sized quantum dots (QDs) particularly in guest-host based hybrid mediums revealed enhancements in electro-optical properties of the mediums, therefore the focus of considerable amount of contemporary studies has been about dispersal of QDs for improvements in medium. This study investigates the effects of CdTe QD dispersal on current-voltage characteristics of some liquid crystalline materials such as E63, E7 and SCLP. Current is increased for all samples due to QD dispersal, however the best improvement is obtained for E7. Hence, current-voltage characteristics of E7 and QD dispersed E7 mediums were also investigated under UV light exposure. Current values of both mediums were found to increase with increasing UV light power due to generation of electron-hole pairs. Photocurrent’s dependence on light power revealed that QD dispersal does not affect recombination mechanism in the medium. On the other hand, UV light responsivity of QD dispersed E7 was obtained approximately twice of that of E7. Thus, it was concluded that CdTe QDs make considerable contribution to current-voltage and photoconductivity characteristics of E7 in dark and under UV light illumination