Particle size dependence of electro-optical switching in ZrP nano colloid

Aqueous colloid of 2-dimensional (2D) α-ZrP nanoparticles can serve as an excellent material for Kerr devices. We investigate the influence of the particle size on the electro-optical switching for isotropic and biphasic α-ZrP colloids that exhibit stable Kerr effect. Smaller sized α-ZrP colloid has wider range of isotropic and biphasic phases, but since the anisotropic polarizability is approximately proportional to square diameter of particles, the larger sized α-ZrP colloid has higher birefringence at a given concentration. The dynamic response time is also dramatically influenced by the particle size. Smaller sized particle has lower viscosity, and the fall time monotonically increases with increasing particle size. However, the rise time has the minimum at around 0.6 μm owing to the competitive contributions of the anisotropic polarizability and the rotational viscosity. Thus, the particle size in α-ZrP colloid is an important factor to determine the electro-optical performance of a Kerr device based on 2D α-ZrP colloids. These findings will be important in developing electro-optical devices using lyotropic liquid crystal colloids.