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Open AccessTunable templating of photonic microparticles via liquid crystal order-guided adsorption of amphiphilic polymers in emulsions
Multiple emulsions are usually stabilized by amphiphilic molecules that combine the chemical characteristics of the different phases in contact. When one phase is a liquid crystal (LC), the choice of stabilize...
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Open AccessRobust cholesteric liquid crystal elastomer fibres for mechanochromic textiles
Mechanically responsive textiles have transformative potential in many areas from fashion to healthcare. Cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers have strong mechanochromic responses that offer attractive opportu...
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Article
Open AccessUnclonable human-invisible machine vision markers leveraging the omnidirectional chiral Bragg diffraction of cholesteric spherical reflectors
The seemingly simple step of molding a cholesteric liquid crystal into spherical shape, yielding a Cholesteric Spherical Reflector (CSR), has profound optical consequences that open a range of opportunities for p...
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Open AccessInterrogating helical nanorod self-assembly with fractionated cellulose nanocrystal suspensions
The helical self-assembly of cholesteric liquid crystals is a powerful motif in nature, enabling exceptional performance in many biological composites. Attempts to mimic these remarkable materials by drying ch...
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Article
Open AccessFractionation of cellulose nanocrystals: enhancing liquid crystal ordering without promoting gelation
Colloids of electrically charged nanorods can spontaneously develop a fluid yet ordered liquid crystal phase, but this ordering competes with a tendency to form a gel of percolating rods. The threshold for ord...
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Article
Open AccessHigh-fidelity spherical cholesteric liquid crystal Bragg reflectors generating unclonable patterns for secure authentication
Monodisperse cholesteric liquid crystal microspheres exhibit spherically symmetric Bragg reflection, generating, via photonic cross communication, dynamically tuneable multi-coloured patterns. These patterns, ...
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Article
Open AccessCellulose nanocrystal-based materials: from liquid crystal self-assembly and glass formation to multifunctional thin films
Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), produced by the acid hydrolysis of wood, cotton or other cellulose-rich sources, constitute a renewable nanosized raw material with a broad range of envisaged uses: for example, ...
