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Inorganics
Volume 13
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10.3390/inorganics13050139
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Article

Tuning Magneto-Birefringence of Two-Dimensional Vermiculite Dispersions Through Magnetic Ion Exchange

by
An Wu
1,†,
Tengxuan Cao
2,†,
Hangkuan Ji
1,
Wenjun Kuang
3,*,
Jiarong Liu
4,
Zichen Song
1,
Jiandong Yao
1 and
Yi-Chao Zou
1,*
1
School of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
2
State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
3
National Innovation Institute of Defense Technology, Academy of Military Sciences, Beijing 100071, China
4
Shenzhen Geim Graphene Center, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Advanced Layered Materials for Value-Added Applications, Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute and Institute of Materials Research, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contribute equally to the work.
Inorganics 2025, 13(5), 139; https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics13050139
Submission received: 9 April 2025 / Revised: 27 April 2025 / Accepted: 27 April 2025 / Published: 29 April 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physicochemical Characterization of 2D Materials)
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Abstract

Liquid crystals based on dispersions of two-dimensional (2D) materials have recently been developed for light modulation, exhibiting superior performances compared to conventional organic liquid crystals in a variety of prototypical applications, including coloration, solar-blind communications and blue-light fluoresce. Among the diverse family of 2D liquid crystals, vermiculite-based liquid crystals stand out with advantages in low cost, ease of mass production and environmental sustainability, owing to the high natural abundance of the material. Here, we demonstrated magnetic-field tunable optics with 2D vermiculite dispersions prepared through a facile ‘exchange and redispersion’ method. By exploiting the intrinsic ion-exchange capability of clay minerals, we observed a significantly enhanced magneto-birefringence of the vermiculite dispersion upon replacing the native cations with magnetic ions, manifesting in a doubled Cotton–Mouton coefficient, representing the highest value among previous reports. Magnetization measurements reveal that there is a remarkable magnetic anisotropy in Fe ion-exchanged vermiculite samples in contrast to the isotropic magnetism of pristine vermiculite, which accounts for the observed enhancement of magneto-birefringence. Our findings demonstrate that ion exchange can serve as a simple and effective strategy to modulate the physical and chemical properties of 2D materials’ dispersions, thereby opening avenues for broader and more diverse applications.
Keywords: two-dimensional materials; liquid exfoliation; birefringence two-dimensional materials; liquid exfoliation; birefringence
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MDPI and ACS Style

Wu, A.; Cao, T.; Ji, H.; Kuang, W.; Liu, J.; Song, Z.; Yao, J.; Zou, Y.-C. Tuning Magneto-Birefringence of Two-Dimensional Vermiculite Dispersions Through Magnetic Ion Exchange. Inorganics 2025, 13, 139. https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics13050139

AMA Style

Wu A, Cao T, Ji H, Kuang W, Liu J, Song Z, Yao J, Zou Y-C. Tuning Magneto-Birefringence of Two-Dimensional Vermiculite Dispersions Through Magnetic Ion Exchange. Inorganics. 2025; 13(5):139. https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics13050139

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wu, An, Tengxuan Cao, Hangkuan Ji, Wenjun Kuang, Jiarong Liu, Zichen Song, Jiandong Yao, and Yi-Chao Zou. 2025. "Tuning Magneto-Birefringence of Two-Dimensional Vermiculite Dispersions Through Magnetic Ion Exchange" Inorganics 13, no. 5: 139. https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics13050139

APA Style

Wu, A., Cao, T., Ji, H., Kuang, W., Liu, J., Song, Z., Yao, J., & Zou, Y.-C. (2025). Tuning Magneto-Birefringence of Two-Dimensional Vermiculite Dispersions Through Magnetic Ion Exchange. Inorganics, 13(5), 139. https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics13050139

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