Recently our group has focused on liquid crystal/nanoparticle composites in a collaboration with UC Merced colleagues Profs Sayantani Ghosh and Jason Hein. In such materials nanoparticles of different types (semiconducting, metallic, magnetic etc) are dispersed or assembled in a defined configuration to produce multifunctional new materials.

“All optical switching of nematic liquid crystal films driven by localized surface plasmons” M.T. Quint, S. Delgado, Z.S. Nuno, L.S. Hirst and S. Ghosh, OPTICS EXPRESS, 23,5, 6888 (2015) Link

” Self-assembled nanoparticle micro-shells templated by liquid crystal sorting” A.R. Rodarte, B Cao, H. Panessar, M Quint, R Pandolfi, L.E. Edwards, S. Ghosh, J.E. Hein and L.S. Hirst, Soft Matter,11, 1701-1707 (2015) Link

“Magnetic field induced brightening in liquid crystal synergized magnetic and semiconducting nanoparticle composite assemblies”
J. Amaral, J. Wan, A. Rodarte, M. Quint, R.J. Pandolfi, M. Scheibner, L.S. Hirst, S. Ghosh,  Soft Matter,11, 255-260 (2015). Link 

“Tuning quantum dot organization in liquid crystal for robust photonics applications” A.L. Rodarte, Z.S. Nuno, B.H. Cao, R. J. Pandolfi, M. Quint, S. Ghosh, J. Hein and L.S. Hirst, CHEM PHYS CHEM, Volume 15, Issue 7,  pages 1413–1421, (2014) Link

“Quantum dot/liquid crystal composite materials: Self-assembly driven by liquid crystal phase transition templating” A. L. Rodarte, R. Pandolfi, S.Ghosh and L.S. Hirst, J. MATER. CHEM. C. 1, 5527-5532 (2013) Link

“Dynamics of spontaneous emission of quantum dots in a one-dimensional cholesteric liquid crystal photonic cavity” A.L. Rodarte, G. Shcherbatyuk, L.Shcherbatyuk, L.S. Hirst and S. Ghosh, RSC ADVANCES, (2012) Link

“Spectral and polarization modulation of quantum dot emission in a one-dimensional liquid crystal photonic cavity” A. L. Rodarte, C. Grey, L.S. Hirst and S. Ghosh, PHYS REV B, 85, 035430 (2012) Link