Influence of nanoparticles of Cu₇GeS₅I superionic conductor on dielectric properties of planar-oriented nematic liquid crystal 6CB

Abstract

The influence of Cu₇GeS₅I nanoparticles on the dielectric properties of planar-oriented liquid crystal 6CB has been investigated within the frequency range 6…10⁶ Hz at the temperature 293 K. The concentration of nanoparticles varied within the range 0 to 0.1 wt.%. It has been shown that the Cu₇GeS₅I nanoparticles considerably less increase the conductivity of the liquid crystal (only by 1.3 times at their maximum concentration) than Cu₇PS₆ ones, the influence of which on the conductivity of the same liquid crystal we investigated earlier (24-fold increase in the conductivity at the same concentration of nanoparticles). It has been assumed that the main mechanism of conductivity changes when introducing Cu₇GeS₅I nanoparticles is the transfer of charge through nanoparticles. This mechanism of charge transfer is characterized by a rather strong dependence of the conductivity of the liquid crystal on the frequency and is experimentally observed, especially at the maximum concentration of nanoparticles.