Glassy-State Discotic Liquid Crystals and Their Nanocomposites with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: DSC and Optical Absorption

We studied a tris(keto-hydrozone) discotic liquid crystal (DLC) and its nanocomposite with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs, mean diameter 1.5 nm) at concentration 1 wt.%. The undoped DLC and the DLC nanocomposite were characterized with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, and their properties were compared. Both DLC materials have the characteristics of stable structures and retain their glassy state at room temperature. This is of practical significance for their applications in organic electronics and optoelectronics.