The Impact of Nanoparticles on Previtreous Behavior: Glass-Forming Nematogenic E7 Mixture-Based Nanocolloids

This report discusses the impact of nanoparticles on glass-forming systems composed of a liquid crystalline (LC) mixture E7 and paraelectric BaTiO₃ particles (d≈50 nm, globular), tested via broadband dielectric spectroscopy. In the isotropic phase, critical changes in the dielectric constant are shown. They are related to the weakly discontinuous nature of the isotropic-nematic transition. In the nematic phase, two primary relaxation times/processes and DC electric conductivity are considered, down to the glass temperature Tg. The prevalence of portrayals via the 'double exponential' MYEGA equation and the critical & activated Drozd-Rzoska relation for dynamic properties are shown. For the primary loss curve, critical-like changes of its maximum (peak) are evidenced: εpeak″∝1/T-Tg* for Tg