LIQUID CRYSTALS are a fascinating state of matter, flowing like a liquid, yet having some of the structural and optical properties of a crystal. This duality of properties has important implications for the applications of liquid crystals, which range from the thermocromic thermometer devices, electro-optic displays and electronic books to new types of fabrics whose colour changes depending on the mood of the weather.
 
Viewed under a microscope between crossed polarises, the different liquid-crystalline phases give different optical textures.

Our scientific activity includes research and development of new organic materials which exhibit liquid-crystalline properties. The work is streaming toward better understanding of the relationship between the structure and the mesogenic properties in order to enable control of self-organising processes at the supramolecular level and therefore provide the materials with enhanced electrooptical properties. Current research is related to design, synthesis and structural characte-risation of bent-shaped molecules such as dimers with flexible and semi-flexible spacers as well as development of efficient strategies for the synthesis of liquid-crystalline dendrimers.
 

Within research in this field we have high level of interaction and collaboration with Duncan W. Bruce (University of York, UK), Ute Baumeister (Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Germany), Bertrand Donnio and Daniel Guillon (IPCMS, Strasbourg, France)

Selected Publications

• M. Šepelj, U. Baumeister, T. Ivšić, i A. Lesac, "Effects of Geometry and Electronic Structure on the Molecular Self-Assembly of Naphthyl-Based Dimers", J. Phys. Chem. B 117 (2013) 8918–8929.
• N. Š. Vujičić, M. Šepelj, A. Lesac, and M. Žinić, "Controlled self-assembly of chiral gelator molecules into aligned fibers induced by nematic to smectic B phase transitions", Tetrahedron Letters 50 (2009) 4430–4434.
• A. Lesac, B. Donnio, and D. Guillon, "Polycatenar bows with single carbon atom elbow", Soft Matter 5 (2009) 4231–4239.
• M. Šepelj, A. Lesac, U. Baumeister, S. Diele, H. L. Nguyen, and D. W. Bruce, "Intercalated Liquid-crystalline Phases Formed by Symmetric Dimers with an a,w-Diiminoalkylene Spacer", J. Mater. Chem. 17 (2007) 1154–1165.
• M. Šepelj, A. Lesac, U. Baumeister, S. Diele, D. W. Bruce, and Z. Hameršak, "Dimeric Salicylaldimine-based Mesogens with Flexible Spacers: Parity-dependent Mesomorphism", Chem. Mater. 18 (2006) 2050-2058.
• Lesac, S. Narančić, H. L. Nguyen, U. Baumeister, S. Diele, and D. W. Bruce, “Bent-core Mesogens based on Semi-flexible Dicyclohexylmethane Spacers”, Liq. Cryst. 33 (2006) 167-174.