Mesogenic molecular crystalline materials

Liquid crystals are increasingly accepted as a separate, fourth, state of matter. Apart from being the foundation of the modern flat panel non-emissive display industry, liquid crystals pervade all forms of molecular materials. Recent research has generated new mesophases in antiferroelectric systems and for molecules with banana-shaped architectures. The disciplines of dendrimers, self-assembling aggregates and co-polymers already have their range of mesogenic forms, and bio-systems are being actively investigated.