Effect of multiferroic BiFeO ₃ nanoparticles on electro-optical and dielectric properties of a partially fluorinated orthoconic antiferroelectric liquid crystal mixture

Abstract

The influence of multiferroic bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) nanoparticles (NPs) on the electro-optical (EO) and dielectric properties of an orthoconic antiferroelectric liquid crystal (OAFLC) mixture is investigated in planar cells. It is shown that dispersion of NPs in OAFLC lead to modifications of response time, spontaneous polarization, rotational viscosity and voltage required for switching the molecules between two ferroelectric states in the antiferroelectric phase while the tilt angle remains almost the same after doping. The large electric field exerted by the NPs on LC molecules and probable charge transfer among them, causes weakening of the interlayer and intermolecular interactions of LC molecules in the antiferroelectric and ferroelectric phases, respectively.