NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN LIQUID CRYSTALS AND APPLICATIONS ; Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data ; CONTENTS ; PREFACE ; CONTRIBUTORS ; INTRODUCTION ; REFERENCES ; Chapter 1 LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE-ASSISTED NANOPARTICLES SYNTHESIS ; ABSTRACT ; 1. INTRODUCTION ; 2. NANOPARTICLE SYNTHESIS WITHIN THERMOTROPIC LIQUID CRYSTAL ; 3. EFFECT OF LIQUID CRYSTAL ORGANIZATION ON NANOPARTICLE GROWTH ; 4. TOWARDS THE ANISOTROPIC GROWTH OF NANOPARTICLES ; CONCLUSION ; REFERENCES ; AUTHORS' BIOGRAPHIES.

Chapter 2 INFLUENCE OF THE NEMATIC LIQUID CRYSTAL ORDER ON AZODERIVATIVES THERMAL ISOMERIZATION RATES ABSTRACT ; 1. INTRODUCTION ; 2. AZOBENZENE-BASED PHOTO-ACTIVE LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE MATERIALS ; 3. PHOTO-INDUCED NEMATIC-TO-ISOTROPIC PHASE TRANSITIONS IN AZOBENZENE-DOPED LCS ; 4. THERMAL CIS-TO-TRANS ISOMERIZATION KINETICS OF AZOBENZENE DERIVATIVES IN LOW-MOLAR MASS NEMATIC LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE MATERIALS ; 5. ROLE OF THE LOCAL ORDER PARAMETER ON THE KINETIC PARAMETERS OF THE THERMAL CIS-TO-TRANS ISOMERIZATION PROCESS IN NEMATIC MESOPHASES.

6. EVIDENCES OF THE OPERATING CIS-TO-TRANS ISOMERIZATION MECHANISM IN NEMATIC ENVIRONMENTS 7. STUDY OF THE THERMAL ISOMERIZATION PROCESS OF AZODERIVATIVES IN HIGH-MOLECULAR MASS ELASTOMERIC LCS ; CONCLUSION ; REFERENCES ; AUTHORS' BIOGRAPHIES ; Chapter 3 THERMOTROPIC LIQUID CRYSTALS BASED ON C=O HN INTERMOLECULAR HYDROGEN BONDING ; ABSTRACT ; 1. INTRODUCTION ; 1.1. Liquid Crystal Self-Assembly ; 1.2. Supramolecular Liquid Crystals (Mesomorphism) [2] ; 1.3. Properties of Amide Hydrogen Bond [2]

2. SUPRAMOLECULAR LIQUID CRYSTALS BASED ON AMIDE (C=O H-N-) INTERMOLECULAR HYDROGEN BONDING 2.1. Self-Assembly of Rod-Like Molecules ; 2.2. Self-Assembly of Disc-Like (Discotic) Molecules ; 2.2.1. Benzene As Discotic Cores ; 2.2.2. Triphenylene As Discotic Cores ; 2.2.3. Cyclohexanes or Others as Discotic Cores ; 2.3. Self-Assembly of Single Tapered Molecules ; 2.4. Self- Assembly of Twin-Tapered Molecules ; CONCLUSION ; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ; REFERENCES ; AUTHOR'S BIOGRAPHY ; Chapter 4 DETECTION OF ORGANOSULFUR COMPOUND USING LIQUID CRYSTALS SUPPORTED ON CHEMICALLY FUNCTIONALIZED SURFACES.

ABSTRACT 1. INTRODUCTION ; 2. EXPERIMENT ; 2.1. Materials and Instruments ; 2.2. Fabrication of Surfaces ; 2.2.1. Glass Slide Cleaning ; 2.2.2. Fabrication of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) Stamps ; 2.2.3. Preparation of Chemically Functionalized Surfaces ; 2.3. Preparation of LC Films ; 2.4. LC Sensor Testing and Image Capture ; 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ; 3.1. Fabrication of LC-Based Sensor Processing ; 3.2. Response of 5CB to Ethyl Sulfide Response and Reversibility ; 3.3. Performance of LC Sensor ; CONCLUSION ; REFERENCES ; AUTHORS' BIOGRAPHIES.