Nanostructured multiferroic liquids: on the way to fluid ferroelectric magnets

TL;DR

This paper reports the creation of a nanostructured liquid crystalline hybrid that exhibits both ferroelectric and ferromagnetic order, enabling responsive multifunctional behavior for advanced technological applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel multiferroic liquid combining ferrimagnetic nanoplatelets with a ferroelectric host, demonstrating coupled electric and magnetic responses in a fluid medium.

Findings

Demonstrates magnetically driven electric and optical responses.

Shows electrically driven magnetic responses.

Highlights potential for energy harvesting and sensors.

Abstract

Responsiveness to multiple stimuli and adaptivity are paramount for designing smart multifunctional materials. In soft, partially ordered systems, these features can often be achieved via self-assembly, allowing for the combination of diverse components in a complex nanostructured material. Here, we demonstrate an example of a liquid that simultaneously displays both ferroelectric and ferromagnetic types of order. This material is a nanostructured liquid crystalline hybrid comprising ferrimagnetic barium hexaferrite nanoplatelets suspended in a ferroelectric nematic host. Director-mediated interactions drive the self-assembly of nanoplatelets in an intricate network. Due to the couplings between the polar electric and magnetic types of order, this material demonstrates magnetically driven electric and nonlinear optical responses, as well as electrically driven magnetic response. Such multiferroic liquids are highly promising for applications in energy harvesting, nonlinear optics, and sensors.