State-of-the-Art Liquid Crystals Research in Japan (2nd Edition)

Dear Colleagues,

Liquid crystals (LCs) are substances with properties intermediate between those of crystals and liquids; they exhibit liquid properties (fluidity) and the optical anisotropy of crystals. LC molecules mainly consist of a rigid π structure and a flexible chain unit, which provide some directional order (orientation); however, they do not have positional order. With thermotropic or lyotropic phase transitions between the crystal, LC, and liquid phases, the molecular aggregates can be reversibly arranged and predicted by molecular dynamic simulations. The alteration of molecular aggregates is well known to significantly affect various physical behaviors, specifically photophysical, optical, electrical, and chemical characteristics. Therefore, consolidating the results of cutting-edge liquid crystal research into a single Special Issue will greatly contribute to future developments in the fields of chemistry, materials, optics, and electronics.

In 2022 and 2023, we gathered ten excellent papers by Japanese researchers and published them in the Special Issue "State-of-the-Art Liquid Crystals Research in Japan". Following on the success of this Special Issue, in 2024, we will once again collect papers for a Special Issue entitled "State-of-the-Art Liquid Crystals Research in Japan (2nd Edition)", in which we will include research results from a wide range of innovative fields, such as chemistry, physics, optics, photonics, optical alignment technology, materials, and devices, related to liquid crystal research originating in Japan.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Exploration of novel LC materials;
2. Development of functional materials with LC characteristics;
3. Characterization of the structures of LC phases;
4. Exploration of simulation techniques for LC materials;
5. Applications using LC materials.

Dr. Shigeyuki Yamada
Dr. Mizuho Kondo
Dr. Kosuke Kaneko
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Crystals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• liquid crystals
• blue phase
• stimulus responsiveness
• photoalignment control
• molecular dynamics simulations
• rheology
• X-ray diffraction
• luminescence
• electrical conductivity

• State-of-the-Art Liquid Crystals Research in Japan in Crystals (10 articles)