Conception, Discovery, Invention, Serendipity and Consortia: Cyanobiphenyls and Beyond

Abstract

In the 1960s, a world-wide change in electronic devices was about to occur with the invention of integrated circuits. The chip was upon us, which instantly created the need for a revolution in visual communication displays. From the watch to the computer monitor, to TVs, to the phone, nearly all everyday applications were affected. A strange connection in technology underpinned these changes; the linkage between silicon semiconductors and organic compounds that did not know if they were solids or liquids. Liquid crystals had been known since 1888 and had seen little usage until they were inserted between conducting glass slides and an applied electric field. Suddenly, the possibility of driving images with low voltage fields became obvious. Many major companies took up the challenge of commercialisation, but in the UK a curious combination of government research facilities, electronic companies and one small university came together in 1970 to form a consortium and within two years the basis for new technologies had been founded. Chemistry is part of this story, with new conceptions, discoveries and inventions, and the luck to be in the right place at the right time.

The Dominance of Pretransitional Effects in Liquid Crystal-Based Nanocolloids: Nematogenic 4-methoxybenzylidene-4′–butylaniline with Transverse Permanent Dipole Moment and BaTiO3 Nanoparticles

“…MBBA was the first stable LC compound with a nematic phase near room temperature, which was important for fundamental studies and innovative applications. In 1968, Heilmeir’s RCA group used MBBA for the first stable experimental liquid crystal display panel [ 52 ].…”

“…In the early 1970s, nematogenic pentylcyanobiphenyl (5CB) was synthesized [ 52 ]. It represents a large family of LC compounds (n-cyanobiphenyls nCB, n-oxylcyanobiphenyl nOCB) that are more stable and less hygroscopic than MBBA [ 3 , 52 ]. In these materials, the relatively large permanent dipole moment ) is approximately parallel to the long molecular axis.…”

Nanoparticle-Induced Ionic Effects in Liquid Crystal Devices

“…Therefore, the development of new ways to design high-resistivity liquid crystals is highly desirable. A general approach to producing such materials relies on chemical design and synthesis methods [7]. Recent advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology resulted in the development of an alternative way to increase the electrical resistivity of molecular liquid crystals by doping them with nanomaterials [8][9][10].…”

Eliminating Ambiguities in Electrical Measurements of Advanced Liquid Crystal Materials

“…In addition, ions in molecular liquid crystals can result in extra power losses due to the Joule heating effect. That's why electrical measurements of any new liquid crystal material are a standard part of its material characterization [32,33]. Last but not least, the presence of ions in liquid crystal materials is important for understanding the unusual behavior of ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals [34] and polymer stabilized liquid crystals [35,36].…”