Ferro- /Antiferroelectric liquid crystals are a special class of liquid crystalline materials that has been attracting the attention of scientists around the world for years. In the last few years, hybrid materials, i.e. liquid crystal (as a matrix) with the addition of nano-objects, have become also very popular. These types of materials combine the features of a liquid crystal with the properties of nanoparticles (strongly dependent on the size and shape). The physical properties of such nanocomposites can be modified by changing the concentration, shape and size of the added nanoparticles, which makes it possible to obtain materials with specific properties. In our group, we manufacture and test nanocomposites based on the smectic liquid crystalline phase (ferro- and/or antiferroelectric ones) and various nanoparticles (for example BaTiO3, Fe2O3, Au). We perform temperature measurements of the transmitted light intensity, spontaneous polarization, tilt angle and switching times, as well as imaging in polarizing contrast, calorimetric and dielectric measurements and wettability of thin nanocomposite layers.

• Sebastian Lalik, Aleksandra Deptuch, Teresa Jaworska-Goła̧b, Patryk Fryń, Dorota Dardas, Olaf Stefańczyk, Magdalena Urbańska, and Monika Marzec, Modification of AFLC Physical Properties by Doping with BaTiO3 ParticlesJ. Phys. Chem. B 2020, 124, 28, 6055–6073, https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c02401
• Lalik, S., Deptuch, A., Fryn, P., Jaworska-Golab, T., Dardas, D., Pociecha, D., Urbanska, M., Tykarska, M., Marzec, M., Systematic study of the chiral smectic phases of a fluorinated compound, LIQUID CRYSTALS 46:15, 2256-2268 (2019), DOI: 10.1080/02678292.2019.1622044
• Deptuch, M. Marzec, T. Jaworska-Gołąb, M. Dziurka, J. Hooper, M. Srebro-Hooper, P. Fryń, J. Fitas, M. Urbańska & M. Tykarska, Influence of carbon chain length on physical properties of 3FmHPhF homologues, Liquid Crystals, 46:15, 2201-2212 (2019), DOI: 10.1080/02678292.2019.161468
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Nowadays, a very important aspect of creating new functional materials is not only efficiency, but also whether they are environmentally friendly. That is why we create and study hybrid materials based on biodegradable polymers such as L,D-PLA, Ecoflex® or polycaprolactone (PCL), doped with both Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCN) and liquid crystal 5CB (4-cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl), with a view to their potential use as a flexible electrode in optoelectronic devices such (luminescent diodes or solar cells). We produce hybrid compositions with various concentrations of admixtures and we test their influence on the properties of biodegradable polymers. As the produced hybrid materials are developed with a view to their potential use in optoelectronics, it is crucial to study their temperature stability, electrical properties and behavior in polarized light.

• Patryk Fryń, Beata Jewłoszewicz, Krzysztof Artur Bogdanowicz, Wojciech Przybył, Agnieszka Gonciarz, Robert Pich, Monika Marzec, and Agnieszka Iwan, Research of Binary and Ternary Composites Based on Selected Aliphatic or Aliphatic–Aromatic Polymers, 5CB or SWCN Toward Biodegradable Electrodes, Materials 2020, 13, 2480; doi:10.3390/ma13112480
•  Patryk Fryń, Krzysztof Artur Bogdanowicz, Piotr Krysiak, Monika Marzec, Agnieszka Iwan 3, and Adam Januszko, Dielectric, Thermal and Mechanical Properties of l,d-Poly(Lactic Acid) Modified by 40-Pentyl-4-Biphenylcarbonitrile and SingleWalled Carbon Nanotube, Polymers 2019, 11, 1867; doi:10.3390/polym11111867
• Patryk Fryń, Krzysztof A. Bogdanowicz, Natalia Górska, Jakub Rysz, Piotr Krysiak, Mateusz Marzec, Monika Marzec, Agnieszka Iwan, Adam Januszko, Hybrid Materials Based on L,D-Poly(lactic acid) and Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes as Flexible Substrate for Organic Devices, Polymers 2018, 10, 1271, DOI:10.3390/polym10111271
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Another widely known biopolymer is deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which is a specific macromolecule that carries genetic information between successive generations of living organisms. Many unique features of DNA are promising for a variety of applications beyond life sciences. DNA-surfactant complexes are insoluble in water and can be easily processed, especially in the form of thin films. In our group, we produce thin layers of DNA complexes with various cationic surfactants (CTMA, BAC, HDCA) using the Langmuir-Blodgett method, based on four types of DNA (plasmid, low-molecular, high-molecular and ion-exchange chromatography). These layers are produced on two types of substrates (mica and silicon) and are examined by atomic force microscopy with the use of statistical analysis.

• Aleksandra Radko, Jacek Nizioł, Katarzyna Makyła-Juzak, Robert Ekiert, Natalia Górska, Andrzej Górecki, Monika Marzec, Materials Science and Engineering B 263 (2021) 114859
• Jacek Nizioł, Katarzyna Makyła-Juzak, Aleksandra Radko, Robert Ekiert, Joanna Zemła, Natalia Górska, Anna Chachaj-Brekiesz, Monika Marzec, Hubert Harańczyk, Patrycja Dynarowicz-Latka, Linear, self-assembled patterns appearing spontaneously as a result of DNA-CTMA lipoplex Langmuir-Blodgett deposition on a solid surface, Polymer 178 (2019) 121643
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In our group, we also study the optical, thermal and electrochemical properties of new organic compounds - aliphatic-aromatic imines and their mixtures with titanium dioxide (TiO2) for applications in optoelectronics. The starting organic materials are imines containing benzothiazole, phenyl, piperazine and stilbene groups of the so-called a rigid core or a bent rod. We investigate the influence of TiO2 admixture on electrical parameters (including photovoltaic) of imines, depending on their chemical structure and symmetry as well as the structure of TiO2 (anatase and rutile)

• Stanisław Urban, Sebastian Lalik, Anna Różycka, Agnieszka Iwan and Monika Marzec, Dielectric studies in the isotropic phase of six symmetrical azomethines with various number of benzene rings. Influence of the ionic conductivity., Journal of Molecular Liquids 328 (2021) 115477, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2021.115477
• Różycka, K.A. Bogdanowicz, N. Górska, J. Rysz, M. Marzec, A. Iwan, R. Pich, A. Januszko, Influence of TiO2 Nanoparticles on Liquid Crystalline, Structural and Electrochemical Properties of (8Z)-N-(4-((Z)-(4-pentylphenylimino)methyl)benzylidene)-4-pentylbenzenami-ne, Materials, 12, 1097, 2019, DOI: 10.3390/ma12071097
• Anna Różycka, Agnieszka Iwan, Krzysztof Artur Bogdanowicz, Michal Filapek, Natalia Górska, Agnieszka Hreniak and Monika Marzec, Structural and electrochemical studies of TiO2 complexes with (4,4’-((1E,1’E)-(2,5-bis(octyloxy)- 1,4-phenylene)bis(ethene-2,1-diyl))bis-(E)-N-(2,5-bis(octyloxy)benzylidene)) imine derivative bases towards organic devices, Dalton Trans., 2018, 47, 7682 DOI: 10.1039/c8dt01418c
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Partnership

Professor Agnieszka Iwan, Military Institute of Engineer Technology, Wrocław
Professor Jacek Nizioł, AGH University of Science and Technology, Kraków
Professor Patrycja Dynarowicz-Łątka, Faculty of Chemistry, JU, Kraków
​Dr. Aleksandra Deptuch, Institute of Nuclear Physics, PAS, Kraków
Dr. Natalia Górska, Faculty of Chemistry, JU, Kraków
Dr. Dorota Dardas, Institute of Molecular Physics, PAS, Poznań
Dr. Rober Ekiert, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, JU, Kraków
Dr. Katarzyna Makyła-Juzak, Faculty of Chemistry, JU,  Kraków
Dr. Jakub Fitas, University of Agriculture in Kraków

Dr. Olaf Stefańczyk, Department of Chemistry, University of Tokyo, Japan
Dr. Alexey Bubnov, Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Science, Prague, Czech Republic
Professor Christiaan Legrand, Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale (ULCO), Dunkerque, France
Professor Kristiaan Neyts, Gent University, Belgium
Professor Wolfgang Haase, TU Darmstadt, Germany

Contact

prof. dr hab. Monika Marzec
(Head of Department)

monika.marzec [at] uj.edu.pl

phone: 12664-4549
room: D-1-57