This paper investigates how changing the ZnO nanorod size and concentration in a smectic liquid crystal affect the order of the liquid crystal and the current-voltage (I-V) curves in these ZnO nanorods-octylcyanobiphenyl (8CB) liquid crystal nanocomposites. 7 Â 5 Â 5 and 18 Â 7 Â 7 nm 3 nanorods show an improvement in the alignment of the liquid crystal with increasing weight percentage of ZnO nanoparticles, up to a concentration of approximately 35% wt., similar to our previous results on ZnO nanoparticles with 8CB. The resulting I-V curves are comparable to those obtained in other organic materials used for photovoltaic applications. The I-V response of these nanorod-liquid crystal nanocomposite represents an order of magnitude improvement over what was obtained with spherical nanoparticles. V
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