Liquid Crystalline Phases from Polymer Functionalized Semiconducting Nanorods Matthias Zorn , 1 Stefan Meuer, 1 Mohammad Nawaz Tahir, 2 Wolfgang Tremel, 2 Rudolf Zentel 1 * 1 Institute for Organic Chemistry, Johannes-Gutenberg University Duesbergweg 10-14, 55128 Mainz, Germany, zornm@uni-mainz.de, zentel@uni-mainz.de; 2 Institute for Inorganic Chemistry, Johannes-Gutenberg University Duesbergweg 10-14, 55128 Mainz, Germany Nanoparticles offer a variety of application due their unique and superb properties, resulting from their small dimensions. They are already widely used in dye senisitized solar cell applications, taking advantage from the high surface are to absorb senisitzer molecules. In this context the use of anisotropic nanorods has benefits due to an oriented charge carrier transport in the particles, which minimizes the limiting electron hopping processes between the particles. 1 In the case of an alignment of nanorods the anisotropic properties can be used on a microscopic scale. In the case of anisotropic nanorods it is possible to orient the nanorods by using their liquid crystalline properties, if they are well soluble, dispersible and mobile in a matrix. The rods tend to align parllel to each other. The concept of mineral liquid crystals is know since the beginning of the last century, 2 and has a renaissance in the nanoage. 3 Liquid crystalline orientation is possible if the rod shaped particles are soluble and mobile in a matrix. In the case of aqeous solutions, surface charged particles are stabilized, but the insertion of ions is not favorable for electronic application. Surfactant stabilized particles were the first to show LC phases in organic solvents. 4 In particular, the orientation in polymer matrices is interesting to use the cooperative properties of the nanoparticles in future application. To prevent agglomeration and increase solubility polymers can be grafted to the particle surface, which compatibilize them with a surrounding polymer matrix. We synthesized well-defined block copolymers containing a soluble block and an anchoring block by RAFT polymerisation. 5 As a soluble block we used polystyrene and polymethylmethacrylate, but also functional polymer like stimule responsive, or semi conducting polymer can be applied. As an anchor we use a reactive precursor that can be converted to obtain anchor units for different nanoparticle species.