02466nas a2200253 4500008004100000245018700041210006900228260000900297300001600306490000600322520149000328653001901818653002301837653002001860653002301880653001901903100001901922700002101941700003801962700003102000700003002031700003102061856012002092 2025 eng d00aVastly increased mesophase range due to superstructure formation from in situ prepared gold nanoparticles with liquid crystalline ligands: toward enhanced optoelectronic applications0 aVastly increased mesophase range due to superstructure formation cMAY  a10340-103500 v83 a

Gold nanoparticle (Au NP)-liquid crystal (LC) composites have gained considerable interest in developing cutting-edge electro-optical materials. This study introduces an innovative synthetic approach that significantly augments the capabilities of Au NP-LC composites by utilizing an amine-functionalized LC as both a reducing and capping agent in the refined Brust-Schiffrin method. In its standard form, this method yields Au NP-LC composites with appealing features like improved clearing temperature. However, the optical characteristics do not display any additional features and resemble simple LC-ligand functionalized Au NP, attributed here to the surplus LC employed to obtain the dual capabilities of reduction and capping. Thus, it was gratifying to observe a dramatic enhancement in mesophase stability with the removal of just a few percentages of excess LC, which is attributed to a remarkable and unprecedented one-dimensional superstructure formation. Furthermore, the removal of surplus LC caused the composite to exhibit Fano-like resonance in the UV-vis spectrum, a noteworthy optical feature likely resulting from dynamic plasmonic interactions, including plasmon-polariton interactions and lattice plasmon modes. Thus, the simple yet robust protocol employed yields Au NP-LC composites with an ultrawide thermal range of the mesophase that paves the way for realizing next-generation electro-optic materials featuring enhanced performance and response.

10aFano-resonance10agold nanoparticles10aliquid crystals10ananosoftcomposites10asuperstructure1 aDuggal, Muskan1 aKhatavi, Santosh1 aYelamaggad, Channabasaveshwar, V.1 aRao, Doddamane, Sreenivasa1 aPrasad, Subbarao, Krishna1 aPrasad, Bhagavatula, L. V. uhttps://library.ncl.res.in/content/vastly-increased-mesophase-range-due-superstructure-formation-situ-prepared-gold