Functional Liquid‐Crystalline Assemblies: Self‐Organized Soft Materials

TLDR

Soft materials, though less durable than metals or ceramics, are increasingly important as functional materials because of their dynamic response to stimuli, and ordering them—such as in liquid crystals—creates new dynamic functions for electron, ion, or molecular transport, sensing, catalysis, optics, and bioactivity. The authors aim to develop unconventional design strategies for functionalizing liquid crystals, demonstrating how supramolecular assembly and nano‑segregation can create diverse self‑organized functional materials. They describe new approaches that use supramolecular assembly and nano‑segregation to functionalize liquid crystals, producing self‑organized materials with tailored properties.

Abstract

In the 21st century, soft materials will become more important as functional materials because of their dynamic nature. Although soft materials are not as highly durable as hard materials, such as metals, ceramics, and engineering plastics, they can respond well to stimuli and the environment. The introduction of order into soft materials induces new dynamic functions. Liquid crystals are ordered soft materials consisting of self-organized molecules and can potentially be used as new functional materials for electron, ion, or molecular transporting, sensory, catalytic, optical, and bio-active materials. For this functionalization, unconventional materials design is required. Herein, we describe new approaches to the functionalization of liquid crystals and show how the design of liquid crystals formed by supramolecular assembly and nano-segregation leads to the formation of a variety of new self-organized functional materials.