Discotic liquid crystal-nanoparticle hybrid systems

Discotic liquid crystals (DLCs) are nanomaterials with sizes ranging from 2 to 6 nm, and they are emerging as one-dimensional organic semiconducting materials. Recently, hybridization of these materials with various metallic and semiconducting nanoparticles (NPs) to alter and improve their properties has been realized. This article provides an overview of the developments in the field of newly immersed discotic nanoscience, a sub-field of liquid crystal (LC) nanoscience. As this field is also of great interest to readers without an LCs background, a brief introduction of the LC field is given first, with special emphasis on DLCs. This is followed by various DLC-NP hybrid systems. Finally, an outlook into the future of this newly emerging, fascinating and exciting field of discotic nanoscience research is provided. NPG Asia Materials (2014) 6, e82; doi:10.1038/am.2013.75; published online 24 January 2014