Dynamics of ZnO nanowires immersed in in-plane switching liquid crystal cells

Abstract

We investigated both numerically and experimentally the dynamics of individual ZnO nanowires immersed in an in-plane switching (IPS) 4-Cyano-4-pentylbiphenyl (5CB) liquid crystal cell under switching electric fields. Comparing the motion of nanowires captured by a high-speed CCD camera with the simulated results allows the interaction among nanowires, liquid crystals and external electric field to be studied. Our results show that in the nematic phase, the relaxation and response of a nanowire are both controlled by both the dielectrophoretic torque induced by the external electric field and the elastic torque arising from the liquid crystals.