Carbon nanotube-induced chirality in an achiral liquid crystal

A small quantity of carbon nanotubes was dispersed in an achiral liquid crystal (LC), and the mixture was found to exhibit a weak degree of chirality. The induced chirality in the LC was probed by means of the electroclinic effect in the LC’s smectic-A phase, which showed significant pretransitional behavior on approaching the smectic-A–smectic-C transition temperature from above. The results suggest that there is a net chirality associated with the carbon nanotubes, which is transmitted into the LC.