Lyotropic liquid crystals as templates for advanced materials. Issue 38 (23rd September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Saadat, Younes; Imran, Omar Q.; Osuji, Chinedum O.; Foudazi, Reza
• Is Part Of: Journal of materials chemistry. Volume 9:Issue 38(2021)
• Page Start: 21607
• Page End: 21658
• Publication Date: 2021-09-23
• Subjects: Materials -- Research -- Periodicals; Chemistry, Analytic -- Periodicals; Environmental sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; 543.0284
• DOI: 10.1039/d1ta02748d
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2050-7488

Abstract

Abstract : Bottom-up engineered LLC templated products with a variety of nanostructures offer infinite potential applications in many technical fields. Abstract : Lyotropic liquid crystals (LLCs) have drawn attention in numerous technical fields as they feature a variety of nanometer-scale structures, processability, and diverse chemical functionality. However, they suffer from poor mechanical properties and thermal stability. Polymerization in LLCs, referred to as LLC templating, is an effective approach to overcome this issue. While the templating approach results in robust mechanical, physical, and thermal properties, retention of the parent LLC structure after polymerization has been a major concern in the field. Therefore, there have been several efforts to introduce new materials and techniques to preserve the native LLC nanostructure after polymerization. In this review, we survey the efforts put in this area along with the applications of the obtained materials from LLC templating, after providing a brief introduction of LLC structures. Moreover, polymerization kinetics in different LLC structures, as a key player in the structure retention, are analyzed. Furthermore, we discuss the outlook of the field and available opportunities.