Micro orientation and anisotropy of conductivity in liquid crystalline polymer films filled with carbon nanotubes.

In this communication we report the preferential orientation of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT) in a nematic liquid crystalline (LC) polymer matrix. The alignment of the nanotubes was characterized through anisotropy of electrical conductivity of the composite measured in directions parallel and perpendicular to the nematic director. The anisotropy of the nanocomposite films strongly depends on the nanotube concentration in the range from 1 to 10% and vanished at higher loads. The electrical conductivity of nanocomposites is related to their structural features revealed by atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy experiments and is explained by a strong coupling between the nanotubes and the polymer matrix.