Chemistry of Discotic Liquid Crystals

This book is a comprehensive resource on discotic liquid crystals, covering their chemistry, properties, and applications in various fields, including semiconductors.

Fundamentally important as models for the study of energy and charge migration in self-organized systems, discotic liquid crystals find functional application as one-dimensional conductors, photoconductors, light emitting diodes, photovoltaic solar cells, field-effect transistors, and gas sensors. Compiling the scattered literature into a single resource, Chemistry of Discotic Liquid Crystals serves as a vital reference for understanding these materials.

The self-contained properties of discotic liquid crystals (DLCs) render them powerful functional materials for many semiconducting device applications and models for energy and charge migration in self-organized dynamic functional soft materials. The past three decades have seen tremendous interest in this area, fueled primarily by the possibility of creating a new generation of organic semiconductors and wide viewing displays using DLCs. While a number of books on classical calamitic liquid crystals are available, there are, as yet, no books that are dedicated exclusively to the basic design principles, synthesis, and physical properties of DLCs.

The first reference book to cover DLCs, Chemistry of Discotic Liquid Crystals, highlights the chemistry and thermal behavior of DLCs. Divided into six chapters, it begins with a basic introduction to liquid crystals, describing molecular self-assembly and various types of liquid crystals. It outlines their classification, covers their history and general applications, and focuses on DLCs and their discovery, structure, characterization, and alignment. The book goes on to examine the chemistry and physical properties of various monomeric DLCs, culminating in a comprehensive resource aimed at students, researchers, and industry professionals alike.