Stimuli-Responsive Materials from Liquid Crystals

Abstract

The capability of liquid crystals (LCs), that instantaneously modulate their physical and chemical properties in response to a target stimulus, found a killer application of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and has made LCs one of the most widely used materials. The use of LCs, however, is not restricted to LCDs. Over decades, a range of characteristic features of LCs has been unveiled and opened access not only to the fundamental knowledge gap but also to a rich variety of applications beyond LCDs, including the measurement of Casimir torque, nonlinear electrophoresis, the morphology of the topological defect, colloidal/molecular templates, sensors, actuators, and controlled release systems. Here, we review how the unique properties of LCs have been leveraged and provided insights into the design of stimuli-responsive materials and their applications.