Photopolymerization of field-induced patterned alignment of 2D nanoparticles in nano-colloidal liquid crystals

The designed assembly of anisotropic nanoparticles remains a major challenge in nanoscience. Electrical control of nanoparticle alignment is attractive due to its simplicity, but it suffers from the absence of a reversible driving mechanism due to weak elastic restoring force of colloidal liquid crystals (LCs). Here, we demonstrate electrical manipulation of two dimensional (2D) α‑zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP) colloidal LCs by combining field-induced normal anti-nematic reorientation with anomalous nematic reorientation. These orthogonal reorientations are achieved under high- and low-frequency fields, respectively, enabling dual-frequency control of nanoparticle alignment. Furthermore, by integrating UV-induced photopolymerization, we fabricate composite films embedded with precisely patterned alignments of 2D nanoparticles.