Two- and Three-Dimensional Nanoparticles of Liquid Crystals Prepared at the Air/Liquid Interface

Recently, we have reported the formation of pseudotwo-dimensional (2D) polymer-dispersed-liquid crystal monolayers using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique.1,2 Mixtures of a surfactant monomer and liquid crystal are dissolved into a volatile organic solvent and dispersed at the air/liquid interface, and interfacial polymerization of the monomer results in a polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal monolayer (PDLCM). We have observed two contrasting phase-separation processes that are analogous to procedures used to prepare three-dimensional polymer-dispersed liquid crystals. Both systems involve the polymerization of the surfactant monomer in order to prepare the composite film, and in each case, the composite film has been successfully transferred to a solid substrate (mica) and imaged using atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques.