Enhancement of dielectric and conductive properties of Mn2O3 nanoparticles in liquid crystal under argon radio frequency plasma

In this study, the effects of Ar radio plasma on Mn₂O₃ nanoparticles and their influence on the permittivity and electrical properties of doped nematic liquid crystal were investigated. The nanoparticles were plasma-treated at different times and then added to the liquid crystal. The size of the nanoparticles and the surface morphology changed with increasing plasma application time. According to the results, significant changes in dielectric anisotropy were observed, the highest value of which was obtained after 2 min of plasma treatment. Also, changes in the parallel and vertical components of the permittivity indicated the effect of the orientation of the nanoparticles and the structure of the liquid crystal under the influence of Ar plasma. The impedance results also showed a significant decrease in impedance and improvement in conductivity of the liquid crystal matrix with increasing plasma treatment time, which was consistent with the equivalent circuit modeling. This study shows that the use of Ar radio plasma can be considered as a method for optimizing the properties of doped liquid crystals with nanoparticles in electronic and optoelectronic applications.