I’m glad to be pointing to some nanotechnology work in Manitoba. The University of Manitoba’s Dept. of Chemistry is working on ways to fabricate liquid crystal (LC) nanocomposites. From the Jan. 25, 2011 news item on Nanowerk,
Market leaders in temperature controlled microscopy, Linkam Scientific Instruments, have been chosen by the Chemistry Department of the University of Manitoba to characterize liquid crystal composites conjunction with SAXS.
The research goal of Associate Professor Torsten Hegmann’s group in Manitoba is the fabrication of liquid crystal (LC) nanocomposites using functionalized metal or semiconductor nanoparticles as dopants in thermotropic amphiphilic and non-amphiphilic nematic, smectic and other types of liquid crystals. Of particular interest is the design of LC nanocomposite materials, chiral and non-chiral, that will respond to external stimuli such as temperature and applied electric fields. LCs are extremely useful in a variety of applications (e.g., flat panel displays, light shutters, spatial light modulators and others), because external perturbations via applied electric fields as well as modified surfaces (e.g. alignment layers) can cause significant changes in the macroscopic properties.