Dispersions of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in liquid crystals: A physical picture of aggregation

► Nanotubes (NT) tend to form fractal aggregates in liquid crystalline (LC) media. ► The LC structure is strongly perturbed inside the pores and near the surface of aggregates. ► The half-time of NT aggregation θ is proportional to r/lnr, where r is an aspect ratio. ► The loose (“L”) and compact (“C”) NT aggregates are formed in LC media. ► During the incubation “L-aggregates” are transformed into “C-aggregates”.