This book aims to review the field of lyotropic liquid crystals from amphiphilic to colloidal systems, bridging the gap between the two worlds of lyotropics and thermotropics by showing that many of the features observed in standard thermotropic liquid crystals may also be observed in lyotropic systems and vice versa. Indeed, for a long time, lyotropic liquid crystals have been overshadowed by their thermotropic counterparts, mainly due to the potential for application of the latter in the display industry. This picture has somewhat shifted over the last decade, with numerous novel lyotropic systems having been discovered and formulated, bringing to light their importance in wider scientific research. For example, the understanding of viruses forming self-assembled ordered phases has largely increased as mineral liquid crystals and clays have experienced a renaissance leading to fundamental research and work on structure formation in nanotechnology. Similarly, nano-rods, nano-wires, nanotubes and 2D materials like graphene oxide and others have been shown to exhibit liquid crystalline behaviour, which may be exploited in self-assembly, drug delivery or biosensors. Cellulose nanocrystals have become an important and popular field of research. The self-assembly of short chain DNA fragments has led to liquid crystal behaviour previously thought to be impossible. Chromonics were shown to exhibit fascinating physical properties, and the combination of active fluids with liquid crystals has opened a whole new field of research to be explored - 'living liquid crystals'.

About the Author
Ingo Dierking received his PhD at Clausthal University, Germany, in 1995 and then worked as a postdoc at the IBM TJ Watson Research Center, USA, before receiving a Humboldt fellowship for Chalmers University, Sweden. From 1999-2002 Dierking was a lecturer at Darmstadt University, Germany, before joining the University of Manchester where he is a Senior Lecturer. He has won several research awards, the GW Gray medal, the Cyril Hilsum medal and the Samsung Mid-career award and is currently the President of the International Liquid Crystal Society and a former Chair of the British Liquid Crystals Society. Antonio Martins Figueiredo Neto received his PhD at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1981 and then worked as a postdoc at the Universite Paris-Sud, France, from 1983 to 1985. In 1988 he became Full Professor of Physics at University of Sao Paulo. He is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Science and the State of Sao Paulo Academy of Science. He has published more than 200 papers in international journals and supervised more than 40 PhD and Master students.

Reviews
A book of high quality, and very timely. The field has been enjoying a rapid growth within the last few decades, thanks to the development of polymer-, DNA-, cellulose- and chromonic-based liquid crystalline phases. * Oleg Lavrentovich, Kent State University, Ohio *
An important contribution to the literature of complex fluids and liquid crystals in general, with the particularly important feature of organizing the solved and open problems as well as the challenges and perspectives of this fascinating research field. * Luiz Roberto Evangelista, State University of Maringa, Brazil *



Book Information
ISBN 9780192898654
Author Ingo Dierking
Format Hardback
Page Count 224
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 596g
Dimensions(mm) 253mm * 176mm * 15mm