Dr. Irina Cârlescu received an MS in Ecological Catalysis in 2000 and a PhD in Organic Chemistry in 2005. Her areas of research interest include synthesis and characterization of liquid crystals with applications in opto-electronics, azobenzene compounds, glycoconjugates and ferrocene derivatives. She is a reviewer for Liquid Crystals, Crystals, Molecules and Medicinal Chemistry Research. She is also co-author of twenty-seven articles in peer-reviewed journals, h-index = 8.
Liquid Crystals - Self-Organized Soft Functional Materials for Advanced Applications is focused on both theoretical models and experimental results, pointing out the chemical and physical properties (thermodynamics, electro-optic switching behavior, and non-linear optic phenomena) of liquid crystals used in a wide range of devices. In this respect, the chapters cover the following topics: chemical structure and phase transitions in bent-core liquid crystals, phase and structural behavior of liquid crystals used to align carbon nanotubes, molecular alignment, and photorefractive effect in the ferroelectric phase, which has the potential to be used as transistors, for image storage, and in optical signal processing. It is expected that the book will be of interest to researchers in academia and industries, as well as advanced students.
Go to the bookBent-core (BC) molecules became an attractive liquid crystal class due to their potential use in smart displays and photonic devices. In contrast to calamitic mesogens, bent-shaped mesogens are self-organized superstructures with remarkable properties, given the presence of polar order in mesophases, although the molecules themselves are not chiral. A particular interest represents the biaxial nematic liquid crystal materials that are used in display technology and allow a faster switching response, compared to calamitic liquid crystals, with considerably reduced costs. This chapter briefly reviews the bent-core liquid crystals with three different core units in the structure: (1) 2,5-disubstituted oxadiazole, (2) 1,3-disubstituted benzene, and (3) 2,7-disubstituted naphthalene. To the central bent units (BUs) containing reactive functional groups of phenolic or aminic type, various mesogenic groups are symmetrically or asymmetrically connected, via esterification or condensation reactions. The obtained compounds showed biaxial nematic and/or smectic mesophases with high transition temperatures in the case of oxadiazole derivatives or cholesteric and banana-type mesophases with lower transition temperatures in the case of benzene and naphthalene derivatives.
Part of the book: Liquid Crystals
Part of the book: Liquid Crystals