1st Edition
Liquid Crystal Sensors
Liquid Crystal Sensors discusses novel applications of liquid crystals that lie beyond electrically driven optical switches and displays. The main focus is on recent progress in the area of sensors based on low molar mass and polymer liquid crystals. This area of research became "hot" in recent years since the possibilities for applications of liquid crystal sensors are growing in many areas, ranging from the detection of mechanical displacements to the detection of environmental pollutants and chemical agents.
This book is well-suited for students, as well as scientists from different backgrounds. For students and researchers new to the field, it gives a thorough introduction. For experienced researchers it shows the latest breakthroughs and serves as an inspiration for solving problems or sparking new ideas.
Key Features:
- Emphasizes how liquid crystals are extremely sensitive to external stimuli and therefore can be used for the construction of stimuli-responsive devices, such as sensors
- Includes the contributions of editors who are deeply involved in the field and author chapters on hot topics such as the sensitivity of liquid crystals to pollutants, UV light, and strain
- Provides an exclusive on LC sensors where having the data in one place will be very useful to the community
- Gives more information on sensors and broadens the scope by having a contributed volume rather than authored
- Combines recent data on advances in the area of liquid crystal sensors that includes many types of liquid crystal materials
Introduction. Structural variety of liquid crystals and similarities of their optical properties. Principles for building liquid crystalline sensors. Low molar mass thermotropic liquid crystals as mechanical and environmental sensors. Lyotropic liquid crystals as biological sensors. Polymer based chemical sensors. Sensor prototypes and future developments. References.
Biography
Albert Schenning is a professor at the Eindhoven University of Technology. His research focuses on functional organic materials.
Gregory P. Crawford is the 22nd president of Miami University. His work includes more than 400 research and education publications, review articles, and book chapters, and 21 U.S. patents and patent applications.
Dirk J. Broer is a professor at Eindhoven University of Technology. His research interests include polymer chemistry, polymer technology, liquid crystal technology, functional organic materials and devices, and computer science.
The book is well written and illustrated, even if colour figures are restricted to a section in the centre of the volume. The chapters are to a very large extend extensively referenced, so that the reader will find it easy to accumulate more detailed information if desired, although one may get the impression on occasion that very recent publications on some of the topics possibly have been omitted. In any case, this is a worthwhile volume of the Liquid Crystals Book Series by CRC Press, which provides an interesting overview about different aspects and possibilities of sensing with liquid crystal based devices.
- Ingo Dierking Liquid Crystals Today
