Blue Phase Range Widening Induced by Laponite Nanoplatelets in the Chiral Liquid Crystal CE8

We report on the widening of blue phase range induced by surface-functionalised laponite nanoplatelets dispersed in a chiral liquid crystal. The results are obtained by means of high-resolution ac calorimetry and optical microscopy and they are reproducible upon heating and cooling, identifying thermodynamically stable blue phases. It is shown that nanoplatelets target mostly the cubic structure of blue phase I and increase its temperature stability range by a factor of two. The present results are in agreement with recent findings that anisotropic nanoparticles tend to effectively stabilise blue phase I.