Quantum dot/liquid crystal nano-composites are promising new materials for a variety of applications in energy harvesting, displays and photonics including the liquid crystal laser. To realize many applications, however, we need to control and stabilize nano-particle dispersion in different liquid crystal host phases and understand how the particles behave in an anisotropic fluid. An ideal syst...

Controlled induction of crystal nucleation is a highly desirable but elusive goal. Attempts to speed up crystallization, such as high super saturation or working near a liquid-liquid critical point, always led to irregular and uncontrollable crystal growth. Here, we show that under highly nonequilibrium conditions of spinodal decomposition, water crystals grow as thin wires in a template-less f...

PREFACE Liquid crystals are unusual materials. As their name suggests, they inhabit the grey area between liquids and solids. They have long range orientational order, typically of the unique axes of their component rod-like or plate molecules. Spatial variations of this average direction of molecular orientation are resisted by so-called curvature (Frank) elasticity. On the other hand liquid c...

In this work, we explore the inherent dynamics of liquid crystal formers using geodesic theory. We locate geodesics (shortest paths) through the potential energy landscape ensembles of the isotropic liquid and nematic liquid crystal phases of a liquid crystal forming system. One expects that the differences in properties of these paths between the liquid and liquid crystal phases will yield ins...

Nowadays, chemically synthesized proteins and peptides are attractive building blocks and have potential in many important applications as biomaterials. In this review, applications of biomaterials to thermotropic liquid crystals are discussed. The review covers the improvement of the performance of liquid crystal displays using liquid crystal physical gels consisting of a liquid crystal and am...

A unique feature of nematic liquid crystals is orientational order of molecules that can be controlled by electromagnetic fields, surface modifications and pressure gradients. Here we demonstrate a new effect in which the orientation of nematic liquid crystal molecules is altered by thermal expansion. Thermal expansion (or contraction) causes the nematic liquid crystal to flow; the flow imposes...

Liquid crystal display using combined fringe and in-plane electric fields Appl. Twist angle effects on the dynamic response of in-plane-switching liquid crystal displays Appl. A robust design against comb electrode spacing variations for in-plane switching mode thin-film transistor liquid-crystal displays Threshold behavior analysis of in-plane switching mode liquid-crystal cells with asymmetri...

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We demonstrate a flat microlens that exhibits hermaphroditic focusing properties. When the input polarization is parallel (perpendicular) to the liquid-crystal directors, the lens exhibits a positive (negative) focal length. To select the proper polarization, we could rotate the polarizer (or the lens) mechanically or by use of an electrically controlled twisted nematic liquid-crystal cell. Det...