Templated nanofiber synthesis via chemical vapor polymerization into liquid crystalline films.

Extrusion, electrospinning, and microdrawing are widely used to create fibrous polymer mats, but these approaches offer limited access to oriented arrays of nanometer-scale fibers with controlled size, shape, and lateral organization. We show that chemical vapor polymerization can be performed on surfaces coated with thin films of liquid crystals to synthesize organized assemblies of end-attached polymer nanofibers. The process uses low concentrations of radical monomers formed initially in the vapor phase and then diffused into the liquid-crystal template.

Surface-Controlled Orientational Transitions in Elastically Strained Films of Liquid Crystal That Are Triggered by Vapors of Toluene.

We report the fabrication of chemically patterned microwells that enable the rapid and facile preparation (by spin coating and patterned dewetting) of thin films of liquid crystals (LCs) that have precise thicknesses (0.7-30 μm), are supported on chemically defined substrates, and have free upper surfaces. We use these microwells to prepare elastically strained nematic LC films supported on silica glass, gold, or polystyrene substrates and thereby characterize the response of the strained LC films to vapors of toluene.

Design of Responsive and Active (Soft) Materials Using Liquid Crystals.

Liquid crystals (LCs) are widely known for their use in liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Indeed, LCDs represent one of the most successful technologies developed to date using a responsive soft material: An electric field is used to induce a change in ordering of the LC and thus a change in optical appearance. Over the past decade, however, research has revealed the fundamental underpinnings of potentially far broader and more pervasive uses of LCs for the design of responsive soft material systems.