Graphene liquid crystal retarded percolation for new high-k materials

Jinkai Yuan, Alan Luna, Wilfrid Neri, Cécile Zakri, Tanja Schilling, Annie Colin and Philippe Poulin ()
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Jinkai Yuan: Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux
Alan Luna: Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux
Wilfrid Neri: Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux
Cécile Zakri: Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux
Tanja Schilling: Physics and Materials Science Research Unit, Université du Luxembourg
Annie Colin: Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux
Philippe Poulin: Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Graphene flakes with giant shape anisotropy are extensively used to establish connectedness electrical percolation in various heterogeneous systems. However, the percolation behaviour of graphene flakes has been recently predicted to be far more complicated than generally anticipated on the basis of excluded volume arguments. Here we confirm experimentally that graphene flakes self-assemble into nematic liquid crystals below the onset of percolation. The competition of percolation and liquid crystal transition provides a new route towards high-k materials. Indeed, near-percolated liquid-crystalline graphene-based composites display unprecedented dielectric properties with a dielectric constant improved by 260-fold increase as compared with the polymer matrix, while maintaining the loss tangent as low as 0.4. This performance is shown to depend on the structure of monodomains of graphene liquid-crystalline phases. Insights into how the liquid crystal phase transition interferes with percolation transition and thus alters the dielectric constant are discussed.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9700

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