Synthesis of Liquid Crystals and Cellulose Derivatives Liquid Crystalline Phases: Recent Advances

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Liquid Crystals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 August 2024) | Viewed by 8903

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Chemistry, NOVA School of Science and Technology, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
2. CENIMAT|i3N, Department of Materials Science, School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
3. iBET—Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Apartado 12, 2780-901 Oeiras, Portugal
Interests: cellulose; membranes; active materials; liquid crystals; nature-inspired; fibers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Physics Department, Lisbon Superior Institute of Engineering, Rua Conselheiro Emídio Navarro, 1, 1959-007 Lisboa, Portugal
2. i3N, CENIMAT, Materials Science Department, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon, Campus da Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Interests: polymeric materials; liquid crystalline polymers; liquid crystals; liquid crystals applications; electro-optical properties; sensors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Liquid crystals (LCs) have become an important part of our daily life and are widely known due to their applications in, for example, display technology. New areas of application continue to be discovered due to important improvements in organic synthesis. This Special Issue will explore the progress that has been made in the production LCs in a more efficient and more environmentally friendly way when compared to conventional methods.

Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on Earth. Its chemical versatility allows for the production of a wide variety of cellulose derivatives that can present LCs phases. The relationship between molecular interactions and physical properties represents an important challenge in LC applications. This Special Issue aims to highlight recent developments and novel trends in the organic synthesis of LCs organic and the cellulose derivatives that present LC phases, as well as their application in numerous areas, such as active nature-inspired materials.

We would be delighted to feature your work and hope that you will contribute an original research article/review or a less time-consuming mini-review/perspective.

Dr. Ana Almeida
Prof. Dr. Pedro De Almeida
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Crystals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • liquid crystal materials
  • nature-inspired liquid crystals
  • cellulose
  • cellulose derivatives
  • stimuli-responsive liquid crystals
  • active materials

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

14 pages, 72398 KiB  
Article
Development of Reconfigurable High-Frequency Devices Using Liquid Crystal in Substrate-Integrated Gap Waveguide Technology
by Aleksandr Andreyevich Voronov, Carmen Bachiller, Belén Villacampa and Vicente E. Boria
Crystals 2024, 14(8), 735; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14080735 - 19 Aug 2024
Viewed by 3515
Abstract
This article presents the theoretical study, numerical simulation and fabrication of a phase shifter and a stub resonator for use in microstrip ridge gap waveguide (MRGW) technology, using a liquid crystal (LC) in the substrate as a reconfigurable material. The phase shifter and [...] Read more.
This article presents the theoretical study, numerical simulation and fabrication of a phase shifter and a stub resonator for use in microstrip ridge gap waveguide (MRGW) technology, using a liquid crystal (LC) in the substrate as a reconfigurable material. The phase shifter and the stub resonator are filled with LC, and thanks to the LC’s dielectric anisotropy properties, the phase shift and the resonance response can be easily controlled using an external electric or magnetic bias field. The phase shifter was designed to operate in the range of 10 to 20 GHz, and the resonator was designed to operate in the range of 7.8 to 8.8 GHz. The phase shifter’s responses (including both phase shift and insertion losses), associated with both the parallel and perpendicular permittivity values of the LC, were computed and measured, and then the corresponding figure of merit (FoM) was extracted. The resonator’s frequency responses, associated with both the LC’s parallel and perpendicular permittivity, were computed. The resonator’s frequency responses, which provided different polarization voltages, were measured and compared to the simulation results. All technological issues related to both prototypes are also discussed here. The good agreement between the simulation and measurement results confirm this technology as a viable approach to the practical implementation of these microwave reconfigurable devices. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 1423 KiB  
Article
Neuro-Evolutive Modeling of Transition Temperatures for Five-Ring Bent-Core Molecules Derived from Resorcinol
by Elena Niculina Drăgoi, Irina Cârlescu, Răzvan Puf, Tudor Vasiliu and Elena-Luiza Epure
Crystals 2023, 13(4), 583; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst13040583 - 29 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1423
Abstract
Determining the phase transition temperature of different types of liquid crystals based on their structural parameters is a complex problem. The experimental work might be eliminated or reduced if prediction strategies could effectively anticipate the behavior of liquid crystalline systems. Neuro-evolutive modeling based [...] Read more.
Determining the phase transition temperature of different types of liquid crystals based on their structural parameters is a complex problem. The experimental work might be eliminated or reduced if prediction strategies could effectively anticipate the behavior of liquid crystalline systems. Neuro-evolutive modeling based on artificial neural networks (ANN) and a differential evolution (DE) algorithm was applied to predict the phase transition temperatures of bent-core molecules based on their resorcinol core. By these means, structural parameters such as the nature of the linking groups, the position, size and number of lateral substituents on the central core or calamitic wings and the length of the terminal chains were taken into account as factors that influence the liquid crystalline properties. A number of 172 bent-core compounds with symmetrical calamitic wings were selected from the literature. All corresponding structures were fully optimized using the DFT, and the molecular descriptors were calculated afterward. In the first step, the ANN-DE approach predicted the mesophase presence for the analyzed compounds. Next, ANN models were determined to predict the transition temperatures and whether or not the bent-core compounds were mesogenic. Simple structural, thermophysical and electronic structure descriptors were considered as inputs in the dataset. As a result, the models determined for each individual temperature have an R2 that varied from 0.89 to 0.98, indicating their capability to estimate the transition temperatures for the selected compounds. Moreover, the impact analysis of the inputs on the predicted temperatures showed that, in most cases, the presence or not of liquid crystalline properties represents the most influential feature. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

26 pages, 5192 KiB  
Review
Mimicking Natural-Colored Photonic Structures with Cellulose-Based Materials
by Ana Rita Quelhas and Ana Catarina Trindade
Crystals 2023, 13(7), 1010; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst13071010 - 25 Jun 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3211
Abstract
Structural coloration has become a fascinating field of research, inspiring scientists and engineers to explore the vibrant colors observed in nature and develop bio-inspired photonic structures for various applications. Cellulose-based materials derived from plant fibers offer a promising platform for mimicking natural photonic [...] Read more.
Structural coloration has become a fascinating field of research, inspiring scientists and engineers to explore the vibrant colors observed in nature and develop bio-inspired photonic structures for various applications. Cellulose-based materials derived from plant fibers offer a promising platform for mimicking natural photonic structures. Their abundance, renewability, and versatility in form and structure make them ideal for engineering specific optical properties. Self-assembly techniques enable the creation of ordered, periodic structures at the nanoscale by manipulating the interactions between cellulose fibers through chemical modification or physical manipulation. Alternatively, additive manufacturing techniques like 3D printing and nanoimprint lithography can directly fabricate desired structures. By em-ulating natural photonic structures, cellulose-based materials hold immense potential for applications such as colorimetric sensors, optoelectronic devices, camouflage, and decorative materials. However, further research is needed to fully com-prehend and control their optical properties, as well as develop cost-effective and scalable manufacturing processes. This article presents a comprehensive review of the fundaments behind natural structural colors exhibited by living organisms and their bio-inspired artificial counterparts. Emphasis is placed on understanding the underlying mechanisms, strategies for tunability, and potential applications of these photonic nanostructures, with special focus on the utilization of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) for fabricating photonic materials with visible structural color. The challenges and future prospects of these materials are also discussed, highlighting the potential for advancements to unlock the full potential of cellulose-based materials with structural color. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop