Development of Structural Complexity by Liquid-Crystal Self-assembly

Since the discovery of the liquid‐crystalline state of matter 125 years ago, this field has developed into a scientific area with many facets. This Review presents recent developments in the molecular design and self‐assembly of liquid crystals. The focus is on new exciting soft‐matter structures di...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2013-08, Vol.52 (34), p.8828-8878
Main Author: Tschierske, Carsten
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
amphiphiles
Arrays
Complexity
Liquid crystals
Logic
Molecular structure
Phases
Self assembly
Spontaneous
Studies
supramolecular chemistry
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Summary:Since the discovery of the liquid‐crystalline state of matter 125 years ago, this field has developed into a scientific area with many facets. This Review presents recent developments in the molecular design and self‐assembly of liquid crystals. The focus is on new exciting soft‐matter structures distinct from the usually observed nematic, smectic, and columnar phases. These new structures have enhanced complexity, including multicompartment and cellular structures, periodic and quasiperiodic arrays of spheres, and new emergent properties, such as ferroelctricity and spontaneous achiral symmetry‐breaking. Comparisons are made with developments in related fields, such as self‐assembled monolayers, multiblock copolymers, and nanoparticle arrays. Measures of structural complexity used herein are the size of the lattice, the number of distinct compartments, the dimensionality, and the logic depth of the resulting supramolecular structures. Liquid crystals on the way to complexity: Recent developments in liquid‐crystalline materials have lead to new structures with enhanced complexity, including honeycombs and multicompartment structures, vesicular phases, and periodic and quasiperiodic arrays. New properties emerge, such as ferroelctricity and spontaneous achiral symmetry‐breaking.
ISSN:1433-7851
1521-3773
DOI:10.1002/anie.201300872