Templated Synthesis of Soft Matter using Liquid Crystals

Nicholas Abbott, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA

Liquid crystals can serve as dynamic and anisotropic templates for the synthesis of range of molecular and colloidal assemblies. This presentation will provide two examples. First, nematic emulsions will be used as templates for synthesis of a range of anisometric, polymeric particles with complex internal nanostructure. Second, topological defects formed in confined liquid crystals will be demonstrated to offer the basis of a general and facile class of nanoscopic templates for molecular self-assembly. Analogies to other classes of molecular templates will be discussed. Unresolved fundamental issues in soft matter research and well as potential applications of soft materials templated by liquid crystals will be discussed.