Article (Scientific journals)
Liquid crystals in micron-scale droplets, shells and fibers
Urbanski, Martin; Reyes, Catherine; Noh, Junghyun et al.
2017In Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 29, p. 133003
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Keywords :
liquid crystal; functional fiber; actuator; sensor; microfluidics; electrospinning; photonics
Abstract :
[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.
Disciplines :
Physics
Author, co-author :
Urbanski, Martin ;  University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Physics and Materials Science Research Unit
Reyes, Catherine ;  University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Physics and Materials Science Research Unit
Noh, Junghyun ;  University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Physics and Materials Science Research Unit
Sharma, Anshul ;  University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Physics and Materials Science Research Unit
Geng, Yong ;  University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Physics and Materials Science Research Unit
Jampani, Venkata ;  University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Physics and Materials Science Research Unit
Lagerwall, Jan  ;  University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Physics and Materials Science Research Unit
External co-authors :
no
Language :
English
Title :
Liquid crystals in micron-scale droplets, shells and fibers
Publication date :
15 February 2017
Journal title :
Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter
ISSN :
1361-648X
Publisher :
Institute of Physics, Bristol, United Kingdom
Volume :
29
Pages :
133003
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Focus Area :
Physics and Materials Science
European Projects :
H2020 - 648763 - INTERACT - Intelligent Non-woven Textiles and Elastomeric Responsive materials by Advancing liquid Crystal Technology
Name of the research project :
R-AGR-0505 - IRP15 - UNIQUE (20150401-20180331) - LAGERWALL Jan
Funders :
CE - Commission Européenne [BE]
FNR - Fonds National de la Recherche [LU]
University of Luxembourg - UL
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