Colloid and Interface Science of Liquid Crystals

This chapter explores recent advances in colloid and interfacial phenomena involving liquid crystals (LCs). In comparison to studies of colloids and interfaces with isotropic solvents, the use of LCs generates a rich range of new phenomena that arise from the long-range ordering of molecules in LC phases. The long-range ordering introduces inter-colloidal interactions mediated by the elasticity of LCs, topological defects in LCs, and enables molecular-scale events at interfaces to rapidly propagate into mesoscale changes in LC ordering. These fundamental properties of LCs underlie a wide range of equilibrium and non-equilibrium colloidal and interfacial phenomena that are leading to new designs of functional complex fluids. In this chapter, we provide a perspective on this topic by highlighting recent studies that address the ordering of LCs at tailored solid and fluid interfaces, behaviors of colloidal inclusions in LCs, and LC-based emulsions. We discuss how emergent equilibrium and dynamic properties in these systems are leading to the design of multifunctional fluids that propagate information and energy over multiple temporal and spatial scales.