The Impact of Nanoparticles on Phase Transitions in Liquid Crystals

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years a strong impact of even tiny addition of nanoparticles of properties of liquid crystalline (LC) compounds has been revealed. It includes changes in phase transition temperatures, unique dynamics, the permanent inherent superior orientations of rod-like LC molecules, or the appearance of the pre-melting and post-freezing effects. When combining nanoparticles and pressure, one can even observe the near-continuous Isotropic—Nematic transition, formally ‘forbidden’ in pure rod-like KC compounds. The dominant part of these unique features is the results of the mutual influence of nanoparticles, molecular features of LC compound, and multimolecular pretransitional fluctuations. We stress the latter because the essential impact of fluctuations has only recently been noted.

The target of this issue is to broaden the fundamental insight into the given topic and indicate possible applications emerging from the experimental evidence and modelling.

Prof. Dr. Sylwester J. Rzoska
Dr. Aleksandra Drozd-Rzoska
Guest Editors

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