Biowaste-based porous carbon nanoparticle doped polymer dispersed ferroelectric liquid crystal composites: an impact on optical and electrical properties

Bio-waste-based porous carbon nanoparticles (PCNPs) were synthesized using green synthesis and investigated their doping effect on the optical and electrical properties of polymer-dispersed ferroelectric liquid crystals (PDFLCs) composites. Here we employed the polymerization-induced phase separation (PIPS) approach for constructing the PDFLCs. Our results indicate that the dispersion of PCNPs into the PDFLC material results in an alteration to several physical parameters, including morphology, dielectric permittivity, conductivity and optical band gap. A decrease in the ac conductivity of the doped samples was seen. Additionally, UV-Visible study reveals that inclusion of PCNPs resulted in a decrease in the optical band gap of PDFLC, with a value of approximately 3.1 eV. These findings demonstrate the potential of using PCNPs as dopants in PDFLCs for various applications, including sensing, energy storage and optoelectronics.