Photoresponsive azo-doped aerosil/7CB nematic nanocomposites: the effect from concentration of the azobenzene photoactive agent

We studied nanomaterials composed from 3 wt.% aerosil nanospheres and the room-temperature nematic liquid crystal 4-n-heptyl cyanobiphenyl (7CB), as doped with the photoactive liquid crystal 4-(4'-ethoxyphenylazo)phenyl hexanoate (EPH). The molecules of the azobenzene photoactive agent EPH were included at concentration ranging from 1 wt.% to 10 wt.%. The object of our interest is the effect of the EPH amount on the photosensitized electro-optical properties of thin films of aerosil/7CB/EPH nematic nanocomposites.