Preparation and characterization of a carbon nanotube-lyotropic liquid crystal composite

We present a detailed study on the integration of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) within a lyotropic hexagonal liquid crystal (LC) for the first time. Two systems are studied in this work; in the first, the same surfactant is used for both the dispersion of the SWNTs and the formation of the LC. In the second system, we use different surfactants for the dispersion of SWNTs and LC formation. Light microscopy imaging combined with small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) indicates that the nanotubes (NTs) are well dispersed and aligned along the LC director. The macroscopic property, namely, the viscosity, is strongly enhanced by the presence of the NTs.