LIQUID CRYSTALS REVIEWS

George Cordoyiannis, Patricia Losada-Pérez, Chandra Shekhar Pati Tripathi, Christ Glorieux et al.

The nematic-to-smectic A (N-SmA) is one of the most extensively studied phase transitions in the field of liquid crystals and, beyond any doubt, the most controversial one. Half a century ago, Halperin, Lubensky and Ma (HLM), based on the analogies between Type-I superconductors and liquid crystals, predicted that the N-SmA transition should always be (at least weakly) first-or…

Takuto Ishiyama, Miho Aizawa, Kyohei Hisano, Atsushi Shishido

The precise control of molecular alignment in liquid crystals is pivotal for the development of next-generation devices in fields such as electronics, photonics, and robotics. Despite advancements in molecular alignment techniques, achieving fine, two-dimensional molecular alignment still requires complex processes. In this review, we highlight scanning wave photopolymerization…

Sang-Hee Lee, Sunghyun Bae, Seung-Won Oh

Abstract not available. Bibliographic information is searchable.

Jae-Hwan Lee, Tae-Hoon Choi, Seung-Won Oh

This review, supported by representative simulations, provides a comprehensive overview of liquid crystal-based viewing-angle switchable displays, with an emphasis on design strategies for angular privacy control in automotive and mobile applications. We systematically compare key LC modes – twisted nematic (TN), electrically controlled birefringence (ECB), and hybrid aligned n…

Mohamed Rjili

The saddle-splay elastic modulus, K24, is a key parameter in nematic liquid crystal theory, yet its physical interpretation remains a subject of ongoing discussion. Defined by a divergence term in the Oseen–Frank free energy, it possesses a unique dual nature, behaving as both a surface and a bulk contribution. This review critically examines these two complementary theoretical…

Jiao Liu, Chi-Bo Feng, Xin-Yi Du, Wen-Lei Duan et al.

Circularly polarized luminescent materials have attracted significant interest due to their enhanced optical features beyond emission wavelength and intensity. Among these, the newly developed circularly polarized room-temperature phosphorescence (CPRTP) materials, which exhibit remarkable characteristics, are of great significance due to their prolonged emission lifetimes and …

Francesca Petronella, Federica Zaccagnini, Vincenzo De Mei, Luciano De Sio

Metasurfaces are engineered materials with unique physical properties not found in conventional materials. These characteristics transform the interaction between light and matter, allowing for the manipulation of electromagnetic waves in highly unpredictable ways. This capability has a significant impact on various fields, ranging from advanced diagnostics to automotive applic…

Amit Kumar, Yogita Sagar, Dharmendra Pratap Singh, Gautam Singh et al.

The evolution of nanotechnology has offered an opportunity for synergistic collaboration with liquid crystal (LC) field to envisage novel properties. A trace of nanoscale guests has been found capable of significantly improving the display characteristics of LCs. The quantum dots (QDs), by virtue of quantum confinement and a large dipole moment, have shown significant potential…

Yuriy Garbovskiy

Ions in molecular liquid crystals have been studied extensively since the early 1960s. Over a course of several decades research involving ions in liquid crystals was motivated by different reasons and priorities. Regardless of the motivation, a better understanding of the sources of ions in molecular liquid crystals (i.e. the mechanisms of ion generation), of their effects on …

M.A. Osipov

Possible molecular origin of ferroelectricity in the nematic phase is discussed in detail considering a number of models based on direct dipole–dipole interaction and electrostatic interaction between surface charge densities. A more model which combines dipole–dipole interaction and short-range orientational–translational correlations is also considered. In particular we deriv…

Styliani Varytimiadou, Davide Revignas, Frank Giesselmann, Alberta Ferrarini

The elastic response of liquid crystals (LCs) to external perturbations is of eminent importance for both their theoretical understanding and practical application. While the elasticity of thermotropic nematic LCs has been widely studied, far less is known about the elastic properties of lyotropic nematic LCs. In recent years however, several observations of spontaneous mirror …

Eugene C. Gartland

Fréedericksz transitions in nematic liquid crystals are re-examined with a focus on differences between systems with magnetic fields and those with electric fields. A magnetic field can be treated as uniform in a liquid-crystal medium; while a nonuniform director field will in general cause nonuniformity of the local electric field as well. Despite these differences, the widely…

Pengrong Lyu, Mert O. Astam, Danqing Liu

The advent of reactive liquid crystal (LC) mesogens inspired the LC scientific community by enabling the development of LC polymer (LCP) in its monomer-primed (LCN) and oligomer-primed (LCON) variants, revealing an inspiring host of potential applications for LCs beyond display technologies. Yet, pioneering applications often demand specific material behaviours, which challenge…

Ali Zia, Sadaf Saeed, Tianlong Man, Hongmei Liu et al.

With the rapid advancement of high-speed communication and computational technologies, AR and VR are regarded as next-generation platforms for immersive human-digital interaction. Polarization Volume Gratings (PVGs) is a game-changing breakthrough in the fast-growing field of augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR), considerably advancing holographic waveguide application…

Qian Liao, Satoshi Aya, Mingjun Huang

The discovery of ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal is one of the most important breakthroughs in the entire soft matter field. The coupling of ferroelectricity and multiple order creates a rich library of polar liquid crystal matter states. Their fascinating physical and electro-optic properties bring huge excitement about the potential applications of these liquid-matter fe…

Oleg D. Lavrentovich

Elastic constants of splay K11, twist K22, and bend K33 of nematic liquid crystals are often assumed to be equal to each other in order to simplify the theoretical description of complex director fields. Here we present examples of how the disparity of K11 and K33 produces effects that cannot be described in a one-constant approximation. In a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal,…

Yuriy A. Nastishin, Claire Meyer

In real samples, focal conic domains (FCDs) and double helical domains (DHDs) in smectic A phases are frequently distorted. Distortions show up as imperfections of conjugated disclinations. These are induced imperfections in difference with proper imperfections, which in terms of the extended Volterra process are inevitable structural features of any curved disclination, includ…

Antal Jákli, Yuriy Nastishin, Oleg D. Lavrentovich

Topological defects and defect phases of rigid and flexibly bent-shaped liquid crystals are reviewed with emphasis on how they are affected by the departure of molecular shapes from a simple rod. The review discusses defects in bent-core uniaxial and hypothetical biaxial nematics, twist-bend nematic, and various frustrated layered bent-core liquid crystals, such as twist-grain …

Timothy J. Sluckin

In memory of Maurice Kleman: Over the last half century, Maurice Kleman was the High Priest of the science of defects in condensed matter. I discuss some aspects of the history of dislocations, disclinations, and defects in liquid crystals, together with some of Maurice's other work. In so doing, I combine intellectual strands coming from pure and applied mathematics, physics, …

Bruno Zappone, Emmanuelle Lacaze

Smectic liquid crystals exhibit a remarkable ability to self-organize into a variety of textures, patterns, and arrays extending over large surface areas with microscale periodicity. These structures provide a useful platform for the bottom-up fabrication of microdevices and functional materials, such as microlens arrays and nanoparticle templates. Periodic structures appear in…