Photoluminescence study of liquid crystal-ZnO nanocomposites

摘要

We have studied the influence of semiconductor ZnO NPs on the photoluminescence property of the liquid crystal-zinc oxide nanocomposites in the solution state. XRD and SEM tools are used to characterise ZnO NPs, synthesized by combustion synthesis method. The interaction between LC molecules and NPs has been studied through temperature dependent fluorescence quenching studies. The analysis of the fluorescence spectrum and intensity indicates that ZnO NPs have a strong ability to quench the fluorescence of LCs by dynamic quenching. The spectral overlap between the emission spectrum of LCs and absorption spectrum of ZnO NPs indicates the possibility of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between these two entities. Overall, the present study would open up the potential usage of LCs in sensing ZnO NPs. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.