Mutually ordered self-assembly of discotic liquid crystal-graphene nanocompositesElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental section, Fig. S1-S9 and Table S1. See DOI: 10.1039/c3cc47685e

The room temperature anthraquinone discotic 1,5-dihydroxy-2,3,6,7-tetrakis(3,7-dimethyloctyloxy)-9,10-anthraquinone (RTAQ) self-assembles in the presence of octadecylamine functionalized graphene (f-graphene) into an ordered sandwich like structure, where the discotic molecules form columnar structures on graphene sheets. Cryo-SEM and SEM images provide evidence for this ordering. This behaviour is also supported by polarizing optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and conductivity studies of nanocomposites. Cryo-SEM, SEM, polarizing optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and conductivity studies provide evidence for an ordered sandwich like structure of discotic liquid crystal-graphene nanocomposites.