Electrophoretic deposition of silver nanoparticles in lamellar lyotropic liquid crystal

We report the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of oleate-stabilized silver nanoparticles in lamellar lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC), composed of anionic surfactant sodium bis-(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT), isooctane, and water. Partly organized nanoparticle arrays are obtained. LLC template and the deposit are characterized respectively with small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Obtained results indicate that LLC template influences the array structure and nanoparticles have an additional aggregation effect under the electric field. Ag particles will assemble themselves more densely with increasing field strength and electrophoretic time. The possible description scheme on EPD of nanoparticles in lamellar LLC is discussed.