AbstractLC-NANOP is an ESF EUROCORES SONS Collaborative Research Project that is addressing an innovative approach to self-organized nanostructures by combination of a variety of organic, inorganic and metal scaffolds with the unique self-organization properties of liquid crystals to obtain liquid crystal nano-particles. LC-NANOP is concerned with the synthesis, analysis, characterization, modeling and physico-chemical properties of super- and supra-molecular systems which are formed from a nano-particle as a central scaffold, surrounded by a layer of liquid crystal. The self-organization properties of the liquid crystal coating is the driving force leading to the self-assembly of the nano-particles into secondary or tertiary hierarchical structures, with emphasis on the systematic variation of nano-particle size, chirality, shape and functionality. This bottom-up approach to nano-structuring is very powerful as it combines the extraordinary variety of morphologies that liquid crystals present with the combination of functional entities, relevant for chemical, biological, optoelectronic, and photonic tasks, etc, to create ordered nano-structures that can be controlled by external stimuli.
Tunable two-dimensional polarization grating using a self-organized micropixelated liquid crystal structure