Research

The research in the group deals with the self-assembly processes occurring in soft matter, our main fundamental science foci being on liquid crystals, colloids and polymers. We are particularly interested in spontaneous long-range ordered structure formation on the nano- and microscales, driven by the unique ordering processes of liquid crystals. We work with the thermotropic as well as the lyotropic class of liquid crystal, often with nematics (chiral or non-chiral) and sometimes with smectics, and when appropriate, we polymerize the phases using reactive mesogens. Our specialty is to study liquid crystalline self-assembly in unconventional contexts, using e.g. electrospinning and microfluidics to produce new composite structures. Apart from investigating their properties and behavior from a fundamental scientific point of view, we also explore their application possibilities, in particular in wearable technology, soft robotics, advanced composite materials, and in secure authentication.

The map below gives a pictorial overview of our main current activities, interests, and some brief info on previous work.