Garbovskiy Y. Transport and nonlinear-optical properties of composites based on ionic liquid crystals of metal alkanoates.

The results of experimental studies of transport (electric, thermophysical) and nonlinear-optical properties of ionic liquid crystals (ILCs) of metal alkanoates (MAs) and new MA-ILC-based composites (such as double-layer cell "dye film - lyotropic ILC layer" and ionic smectic glasses (ISGs) colored by dyes with various molecular structures) are presented. It is found that the most effective transport of the charge carrier majority (potassium cations) in lyotropic ILC (smectic electrolyte) is along nanosized water-filled two-dimensional cation-anion layers. As a result, the corresponding mobility of potassium cations is several times greater than that in bulk (three-dimensional) isotropic solutions. It is shown that covering a dye film with a lyotropic ILC layer (the preparation of double-layer cell) makes the possibility to record only dynamic holographic gratings in contrast to the case of uncovered dye films where only stationary holographic relief grating recording occurs. The dynamic holographic thin grating recording in such composites is studied. The dependence of grating recording and erasure in double-layer cells on thermophysical properties of lyotropic ILC is observed. The method for fabrication of ISGs colored by dyes with various molecular structures is proposed. The nonlinear-optical parameters of doped ISGs and dynamic holographic recording in such materials are studied. The advantages of ISGs as new promising matrices are demonstrated.