Reference : Liquid crystals in micron-scale droplets, shells and fibers
Scientific journals : Article
Physical, chemical, mathematical & earth Sciences : Physics
Physics and Materials Science
http://hdl.handle.net/10993/30678
Liquid crystals in micron-scale droplets, shells and fibers
English
Urbanski, Martin mailto [University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Physics and Materials Science Research Unit >]
Reyes, Catherine mailto [University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Physics and Materials Science Research Unit >]
Noh, Junghyun mailto [University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Physics and Materials Science Research Unit >]
Sharma, Anshul mailto [University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Physics and Materials Science Research Unit >]
Geng, Yong mailto [University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Physics and Materials Science Research Unit >]
Jampani, Venkata mailto [University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Physics and Materials Science Research Unit >]
Lagerwall, Jan mailto [University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Physics and Materials Science Research Unit >]
15-Feb-2017
Journal of Physics : Condensed Matter
Institute of Physics
29
133003
Yes (verified by ORBilu)
International
0953-8984
1361-648X
Bristol
United Kingdom
[en] liquid crystal ; functional fiber ; actuator ; sensor ; microfluidics ; electrospinning ; photonics
[en] The extraordinary responsiveness and large diversity of self-assembled structures of liquid crystals are well documented and they have been extensively used in devices like displays. For long, this application route strongly influenced academic research, which frequently focused on the performance of liquid crystals in display-like geometries, typically between flat, rigid substrates of glass or similar solids. Today a new trend is clearly visible, where liquid crystals confined within curved, often soft and flexible, interfaces are in focus. Innovation in microfluidic technology has opened for high-throughput production of liquid crystal droplets or shells with exquisite monodispersity, and modern characterization methods allow detailed analysis of complex director arrangements. The introduction of electrospinning in liquid crystal research has enabled encapsulation in optically transparent polymeric cylinders with very small radius, allowing studies of confinement effects that were not easily accessible before. It also opened the prospect of functionalizing textile fibers with liquid crystals in the core, triggering activities that target wearable devices with true textile form factor for seamless integration in clothing. Together, these developments have brought issues center stage that might previously have been considered esoteric, like the interaction of topological defects on spherical surfaces, saddle-splay curvature-induced spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking, or the non-trivial shape changes of curved liquid crystal elastomers with non-uniform director fields that undergo a phase transition to an isotropic state. The new research thrusts are motivated equally by the intriguing soft matter physics showcased by liquid crystals in these unconventional geometries, and by the many novel application opportunities that arise when we can reproducibly manufacture these systems on a commercial scale. This review attempts to summarize the current understanding of liquid crystals in spherical and cylindrical geometry, the state of the art of producing such samples, as well as the perspectives for innovative applications that have been put forward.
European Commission - EC ; Fonds National de la Recherche - FnR ; University of Luxembourg - UL
R-AGR-0505 > UNIQUE > 01/04/2015 - 31/03/2018 > LAGERWALL Jan
Researchers ; Professionals ; Students
http://hdl.handle.net/10993/30678
10.1088/1361-648X/aa5706
H2020 ; 648763 - INTERACT - Intelligent Non-woven Textiles and Elastomeric Responsive materials by Advancing liquid Crystal Technology

File(s) associated to this reference

Fulltext file(s):

FileCommentaryVersionSizeAccess
Open access
Urbanski et al 2017.pdfPublisher postprint8.89 MBView/Open

Bookmark and Share SFX Query

All documents in ORBilu are protected by a user license.