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Molecules
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Polymeric Liquid Crystals and Applications, 2nd Edition
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Polymeric Liquid Crystals and Applications, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 2025

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Pedro Marques de Almeida

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Guest Editor
1. Mechanical Engineering 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
Prof. Dr. Anupam Sengupta

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Guest Editor
1. Department of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
2. Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
Interests: biological physics; topological defects; liquid crystals; microfluidics; colloids; soft materials
Dr. Mateusz Mrukiewicz

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Guest Editor
Institute of Applied Physics, Faculty of Advanced Technologies and Chemistry, Military University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland
Interests: soft matter; liquid crystals; materials characterization; dielectric spectroscopy; electro-optics; nanoparticles
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymeric liquid crystal systems (LCPs) show the anisotropic characteristic of liquid crystals, and, at the same time, demonstrate many of the useful and versatile properties of polymers. These systems present a great variety of chemical and structural properties with potential benefits of programmed and superior material properties, thereby providing more convenient polymer processing and smart responses to different stimuli. Polymeric liquid crystals have been investigated for several decades in different research applications, with the aim of using them in numerous commercial applications.

With this Special Issue of Molecules, we aim to bring together pure and applied research papers on LCPs, including their applications. Presenting a very broad scope, this Special Issue welcomes full papers, short communications and review articles on polymer design, modelling, and synthesis, and those devoted to structure/processing/properties and applications of liquid crystalline polymers. Studies on main-chain and side-chain LCPs or polymer liquid crystalline blends, dispersions, and encapsulations and biological and bio-inspired liquid crystals are also welcome.

Dr. Pedro Marques de Almeida
Prof. Dr. Anupam Sengupta
Dr. Mateusz Mrukiewicz
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. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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

  • phases, structures and ordering
  • self-assembly, colloids
  • instabilities, pattern formation and chaos, fibers
  • biological and bio-inspired liquid crystals
  • polymer-liquid crystal blends
  • conductive liquid crystals
  • switchable polymers
  • nanostructured systems, supramolecules
  • polymers, elastomers and gels
  • photosensitive liquid crystals
  • confined liquid crystals
  • molecular design, synthesis and new materials
  • sensors
  • actuators
  • O-LED and polymer LCD devices
  • conducting polymer liquid crystals
  • biopolymer liquid crystals
  • drug delivery
  • mathematical modelling
  • novel applications of liquid crystalline systems

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 4225 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Infrared Shielding Function in ATO-Doped Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal Films
by Hongren Chen, Baohua Yuan, Xiao Wang, Xiaoming Zhang, Qilei Wang, Zuowei Zhang, Yunxiao Ren, Yihai Yang, Zihui Ye, Ruochen Lan, Lanying Zhang, Wei Hu, Yong Jiang and Huai Yang
Molecules 2025, 30(8), 1730; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30081730 - 11 Apr 2025
Viewed by 171
Abstract
The enhanced infrared shielding function of antimony tin oxide (ATO)-doped polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) film enables its use for smart windows, because it can switch between transparent and scattered states, which can protect people’s privacy. When PDLC film is used for a building’s [...] Read more.
The enhanced infrared shielding function of antimony tin oxide (ATO)-doped polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) film enables its use for smart windows, because it can switch between transparent and scattered states, which can protect people’s privacy. When PDLC film is used for a building’s doors and windows or external walls, we hope that it can have a higher infrared shielding capability, in order to reduce the indoor temperature affected by solar irradiation, so as to reduce the energy consumption caused by refrigeration equipment. However, the infrared shielding capability of the existing PDLC is far from sufficient. In this work, modified ATO nanoparticles of different sizes were introduced into the PDLC system to improve its infrared shielding capability. It was found that when the ATO particle size is 20 nm and the doping content is 0.6 wt%, the modified PDLC sample provides optimal infrared shielding function while maintaining excellent electro-optical properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Liquid Crystals and Applications, 2nd Edition)
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15 pages, 4381 KiB  
Article
Hierarchically Structured Stimuli-Responsive Liquid Crystalline Terpolymer–Rhodamine Dye Conjugates
by Samiksha Vaidya, Meenakshi Sharma, Christian Brückner and Rajeswari M. Kasi
Molecules 2025, 30(2), 401; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30020401 - 18 Jan 2025
Viewed by 689
Abstract
Optically responsive materials are applied in sensing, actuators, and optical devices. One such class of material is dye-doped liquid crystal polymers that self-assemble into cholesteric mesophases that reflect visible light. We report here the synthesis and characterization of a family of linear and [...] Read more.
Optically responsive materials are applied in sensing, actuators, and optical devices. One such class of material is dye-doped liquid crystal polymers that self-assemble into cholesteric mesophases that reflect visible light. We report here the synthesis and characterization of a family of linear and mildly crosslinked terpolymers prepared by the ROMP of norbornene-based monomers. The three monomers were composed of (i) rhodamine dye through one or two norbornene end groups utilizing flexible C10-alkane spacers, (ii) a cholesteryl liquid crystal (LC) using C9-alkane spacers, and (iii) PEG side chains. We investigated how these architectural variations in these terpolymers impacted their hierarchically self-assembled mesophase properties. We probed their composition, morphology, thermal, mechanic, photochromic, and mechanochromic properties using, inter alia, 1H NMR spectroscopy, DSC, temperature-dependent SAXS, diffuse reflectance UV-vis spectroscopy, and optical polarization microscopy. The new terpolymers exhibited architecture-dependent thermochromic, mechanochromic, and piezochromic properties arising from LC–rhodamine dye interactions. We found that a compromise between the rigidity and flexibility of the terpolymer architectures needed to be stricken to fully express stimuli-responsive properties. These terpolymers also showed distinctly different properties compared to those of a previously reported structurally related liquid crystalline copolymer made from two monomers. These findings help to define the design principles for optimally stimuli-responsive liquid crystalline polymers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Liquid Crystals and Applications, 2nd Edition)
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17 pages, 4795 KiB  
Article
Aggregation-Induced Emission-Active Cyanostilbene-Based Liquid Crystals: Self-Assembly, Photophysical Property, and Multiresponsive Behavior
by Bian Li, Junde Zhang, Juan Wang and Xiaofang Chen
Molecules 2024, 29(23), 5811; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29235811 - 9 Dec 2024
Viewed by 958
Abstract
Cyanostilbene (CS)-related conjugated groups can be considered as dual functional groups of AIEgen and mesogen to construct photoluminescent liquid crystals, and it is essential to study the relationship between their molecular structures and compound properties systematically. In this paper, we designed and synthesized [...] Read more.
Cyanostilbene (CS)-related conjugated groups can be considered as dual functional groups of AIEgen and mesogen to construct photoluminescent liquid crystals, and it is essential to study the relationship between their molecular structures and compound properties systematically. In this paper, we designed and synthesized linear and bent-shaped CS derivatives containing ester- and amide-connecting groups and different substituted numbers of alkoxy tails. Their phase behaviors and photophysical properties were investigated in depth. The bent-shaped compounds with the mono-substituted alkoxy tail exhibit a smectic C structure, and those containing two or three alkoxy tails possess a hexagonal columnar phase structure. The compounds exhibit aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties in tetrahydrofuran (THF)/water mixtures. When the water fraction increases to a certain threshold, a dramatic increase in emission intensity and a red-shift in the fluorescence emission peak are detected. The emission peaks of the ester-type compounds in solid states are around 480 nm, and those of the amide-type compounds are extended to 590 nm, exhibiting versatile luminescent colors. Moreover, thermochromic and photochromic fluorescence-responsive properties are witnessed in these CS derivatives. This work provides a new strategy for the design and synthesis of fluorescent liquid crystalline materials with multiple response properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Liquid Crystals and Applications, 2nd Edition)
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