Chapters authored
From a Chiral Molecule to Blue Phases
Chiral molecules play an important role in a wide range from biological structures of plants and animals to chemical systems and liquid crystal display technologies. These molecules were used in different research fields due to their opaqueness and iridescent colors changes as a function of the variation in temperature after their discovery by Lehman in 1889. The iridescent colors and different optical textures of cholesterol make it attractive for the new study field of cholesteric liquid crystals. The direction of the cholesteric liquid crystals generates a periodic helical structure depending on the chirality of molecules. This helical structure might be right or left handed configuration and it is very sensitive to the external conditions, such as chiral dopant concentration and temperature. The variation in a helical structure, which was induced by these external conditions, had a great attraction for the scientists working on the chirality in liquid crystals and their applications. This chapter will provide a general introduction not only about the chirality in nature and its application in liquid crystals, especially in blue phases but also about the trends in the stabilization of blue phases and the investigation of their electro-optical properties for advanced applications in display, photonic devices.
Part of the book: Liquid Crystals