Magnetic Orientation of Liquid Crystalline Montmorillonite in Ionic Liquids

Montmorillonite (MMT), a layered clay mineral, was dispersed in ionic liquids (ILs) to prepare MMT-IL dispersions. After several weeks of standing, MMT-IL dispersions separated into an upper transparent layer and a lower birefringent (liquid crystalline) turbid layer, in which MMT was present as stacked layers of particles intercalated with ILs, not as exfoliated single layers. MMT-IL liquid crystals were sufficiently aligned under a magnetic field of 0.5 T in strength.