Effect of H-Bonded Liquid Crystal Polymers on CdSe Quantum Dot Alignment within Nanocomposite

Control over nanoparticle shape, liquid crystal (LC) polymer architecture, and the related mesophase structure has made possible the creation of new polymer/CdSe semiconductor nanoparticle composite materials. Surface modification of semiconductor quantum dot nanoparticles by hydrogen-bonded LC polymers resulted in the formation of uniform and coagulation-free bulk systems. The effect of the LC polymer on the alignment of nanoparticles within the composite was established by varying the polymer structure and the size of the quantum dots. The resultant composites represent a new class of nanomaterials in which quantum dots are aligned within the planes provided by the initial smectic layers separated by the periodically located polymer backbones.