Research Projects

Multiferroics are materials that exhibit multiple ferroic properties, such as ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, and ferroelasticity, in the same phase. These materials are useful for applications like spintronics, sensors, and multifunctional memory. However, conventional nematic liquid crystals are neither ferromagnetic nor ferroelectric. This proposal aims to develop multiferroic liquid crystals using the ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal, RM734, discovered by Alenka et al., which exhibits a ferroelastic to ferroelectric nematic phase transition at 1340C. The main idea is to synthesize RM734 and disperse magnetic barium hexaferrite single-crystal nanoplatelets to stabilize the ferromagnetic phase. The proposed suspension aims to achieve a multiferroic nematic phase below 1340C, with electric and magnetic order due to molecular dipole ordering and the ordering of magnetic nanoplatelets. Once achieving a multiferroic nematic phase, the researchers plan to investigate phase transition, electro-optic, magneto-optic, electrorheological, magnetorheological, and topological properties under external electric and magnetic fields. The study aims to lead to new functional materials and open unexplored directions for using liquid crystals as multiferroic fluids for emerging technologies.