Percolation of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in liquid crystals (LCs) opens way for a unique class of anisotropic hybrid materials with a complex dielectric constant widely controlled by CNT concentration. Percolation in such systems is commonly described
as a one-step process starting at a very low loading of CNTs. In the present study the two-step percolation was observed in the samples of thickness 250 $mu$m obtained by pressing the suspension between two substrates. The percolation concentrations for the first and second percolation processes were $C_n^{p_1}approx 0.0002$ wt. % and $C_n^{p_2}approx 0.5$ wt. %, respectively. The two-stage nature of percolation was explained on a base of mean field theory assuming core-shell structure of CNTs.
Aqueous suspensions of Laponite with discotic particles are well-studied and find a wide range of applications in industry. A new direction of their implementation is polymer composites that can exhibit improved physical properties.We have studied th
e aging of aqueous suspensions of Laponite and sodium polystyrene sulfonate (PSS-Na) and both their microscopic (small-angle X-ray scattering, SAXS) and macroscopic (small amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) rheometry) properties. The concentration of Laponite, $C_L$, was fixed at 2.5% wt and concentration of PSS-Na, $C_p$, was varied within 0-0.5% wt (0-24.2~mM). It is shown that the adding of PSS-Na significantly accelerates the aging.Nevertheless, the systems were stable against the sedimentation, and the flocculation didnt occur. Polyelectrolyte induced the appearance of large-scale fractal heterogeneities, which became more compact in the course of the aging. Polyelectrolyte induced the appearance of large-scale fractal heterogeneities, which became more compact in the course of the aging.
This work discusses the sedimentation stability and aging of aqueous suspension of Laponite in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The concentration of Laponite was fixed at the constant level $C_l=2$ %wt, which corresponds to the
threshold between equilibrium gel IG$_1$ and repulsive gel IG$_2$ phases. The concentration of CTAB $C_s$ was within 0-0.3 %wt. In the presence of CTAB the Laponite aqueous suspensions were unstable against sedimentation and they separated out into upper and bottom layers (U- and B-layers, respectively). The dynamic light scattering technique revealed that the addition of CTAB even at rather small concentration, $C_s=0.0164$ %wt ($0.03 CEC$), induced noticeable changes in the aging dynamics of U-layer, and it was explained by equilibration of CTAB molecules that were initially non-uniformly distributed between different Laponite particles. Accelerated stability analysis by means of analytical centrifugation with rotor speed ${omega}=500-4000$ rpm revealed three sedimentation regimes: continuous (I, $C_s<0.14$ %wt), zone-like (II, $0.14<C_s<0.2$ %wt) and gel-like (III, $C_s >0.2$ %wt). It was demonstrated that B-layer was soft in the zone-like regime. The increase of ${omega}$ resulted in its supplementary compressing and the collapse of soft sediment above certain critical centrifugal acceleration.
This work discusses results of experimental investigations of the specific heat, $C$, of apple in a wide interval of moisture contents ($W=0-0.9$) and temperatures ($T = 283-363$ K). The obtained data reveal the important role of the bound water in d
etermination of $C(W,T)$ behaviour. The additive model for description of $C(W)$ dependence in the moisture range of $0.1<W<1.0$ was applied, where the apple was considered as a mixture of water and hydrated apple material (water plasticised apple) with specific heat $C_h$. The difference between $C_h$ and specific heat of dry apple, $Delta Cb=C_h-C_d$, was proposed as a measure of the excess contribution of bound water to the specific heat. The estimated amounts of bound water $W_b$ were comparable with the monolayer moisture content in apple. The analytical equation was proposed for approximation of $C(W,T)$ dependencies in the studied intervals of moisture content and temperature.
The batch fermentation process, inoculated by pulsed electric field (PEF) treated wine yeasts (S. cerevisiae Actiflore F33), was studied. PEF treatment was applied to the aqueous yeast suspensions (0.12 % wt.) at the electric field strengths of E=100
and 6000 V/cm using the same pulse protocol (number of pulses of n=1000, pulse duration of ti=100 mks, and pulse repetition time of dt=100 ms). Electro-stimulation was confirmed by the observed growth of electrical conductivity of suspensions. The fermentation was running at 30{deg}C for 150 hours in an incubator with synchronic agitation. The obtained results clearly evidence the positive impact of PEF treatment on the batch fermentation process. Electro-stimulation resulted in improvement of such process characteristics as mass losses, consumption of soluble matter content ({deg}Brix) and synthesis of proteins. It also resulted in a noticeable acceleration of consumption of sugars at the initial stage of fermentation in the lag phase. At the end of the lag phase (t=40 hours), consumption of fructose in samples with electrically activated inocula exceeded fructose consumption in samples with control inocula by 2.33 times when it was activated at E=100 V/cm and by 3.98 times after treatment at E=6000 V/cm. At the end of the log phase (120 hours of fermentation), 30% mass reduction was reached in samples with PEF-treated inocula (E=6000 V/cm), whereas the same mass reduction of the control sample required approximately, 20 hours of extra fermentation. The possible mechanisms of electro-stimulation are also discussed in details.
The microstructure and electrical conductivity of suspensions of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in binary liquid mixtures water-1-Cyclohexyl-2-pyrrolidone (CHP) were studied in the heating and cooling cycles. The concentration of MWCNTs was v
aried in the interval between 0-1 wt.% and the content of water in a binary mixture X = [water]/([CHP]+[water]) was varied within 0-1.0. The experimental data have shown that dispersing quality of MWCNTs in a mixture of good (CHP) and bad (water) solvents may be finely regulated by adjustment of composition of the CHP+ water mixtures. The aggregation ability of MWCNTs in dependence on X was discussed. The surface of MWCNT clusters was highly tortuous, its fractal dimension df increased with increase of X, approaching -> 1.9 at X->1. It was concluded that the surface tension is not suitable characteristic for prediction of dispersion ability in the mixture of good and bad solvents. The electrical conductivity data evidenced the presence of a fuzzy-type percolation with multiple thresholds in the systems under investigation. This behavior was explained by formation of different percolation networks in dependence of MWCNT concentration.
The effects of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (NTs) on low-temperature phase transformations in 5CB were studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), low-temperature photoluminescence and measurements of electrical conductivity. The con
centration of NTs was varied within 0-1% wt. The experimental data, obtained for pure 5CB by DSC and measurements of photoluminescence in the heating mode, evidenced the presence of two crystallization processes at T->229 K and T->262 K, which correspond to C1a->C1b, and C1b->C2 phase transformations. Increase of temperature T from 10 K to 229 K provoked the red shift of photoluminescence spectral band that was explained by flattening of 5CB molecule conformation. Moreover, the photoluminescence data allow to conclude that crystallisation at T=229 K results in conformation transition to non-planar 5CB structure characteristic to ideal crystal. The non-planar conformations were dominating in nematic phase, i.e., at T>297 K. Electrical conductivity data for NTs-5CB composites revealed supplementary anomaly inside the stable crystalline phase C2, identified earlier in the temperature range 229 K-296.8 K. It can reflect the influence of phase transformation of 5CB in interfacial layers on the transport of charge carriers between NTs.
Fine complex light structure, optical singularities and electroconductivty of nematic 5CB doped by multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were investigated. MWCNTs gather spontaneously to system of micro scale clusters with random fractal borders at
small enough concentration. They are surrounded by the striped micro scale cladding which creates optical singularities in propagating laser beam. Applied transverse electric field above the Freedericksz initiates homeotropic arrangement of 5CB and the striped inversion walls between nanotubes clusters what diminishes free energy of a composite. Theory of their appearance and properties was built. Simultaneously the striped cladding disappears what can be treated as new mechanism of structure orientation nonlinearity in nonlinear photonics. Polarization singularities (circular C points) were measured firstly. Percolation of clusters enhances strongly electrical conductivity of the system and creates inversion walls even without applied field. Carbon nanotubes composites in LC form bridge between nano dopants and micro/macro system and are promising for applications. Elaborated protocol of singular optics inspection and characterization of LC nanocomposites is promising tool for applications in modern nanosience and technique.
A method for study of charge-transfer interactions between solute molecules and solvent based on the comparison of the ratios of spectral shifts of different electronic transitions in solute molecules in chemically inert solvent is proposed. The meth
od is applicable to molecules that do not change their dipole moment on excitation. As an example, a presence of charge transfer interactions in higher electronic states of aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, phenanthrene, and naphthalene) dissolved in water and alcohols was demonstrated.
Microstructure, phase transitions, electrical conductivity, and optical and electrooptical properties of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (NTs), dispersed in the cholesteric liquid crystal (cholesteryl oleyl carbonate, COC), nematic 5CB and their mixture
s, were studied in the temperature range between 255 K and 363 K. The relative concentration X=COC/(COC+5CB)was varied within 0.0-1.0. The concentration $C_p$ of NTs was varied within 0.01-5% wt. The value of X affected agglomeration and stability of NTs inside COC+5CB. High-quality dispersion, exfoliation, and stabilization of the NTs were observed in COC solvent (good solvent). From the other side, the aggregation of NTs was very pronounced in nematic 5CB solvent (bad solvent). The dispersing quality of solvent influenced the percolation concentration $C_p$, corresponding to transition between the low conductive and high conductive states: e.g., percolation was observed at $C_p=1%$ and $C_p=0.1%$ for pure COC and 5CB, respectively. The effects of thermal pre-history on the heating-cooling hysteretic behavior of electrical conductivity were studied. The mechanism of dispersion of NTs in COC+5CB mixtures is discussed. Utilization of the mixtures of good and bad solvents allowed fine regulation of the dispersion, stability and electrical conductivity of LC+NTs composites. The mixtures of COC and 5CB were found to be promising for application as functional media with controllable useful chiral and electrophysical properties.
