Welcome to Our Research Group!
We focus on nano- and microscale self-assembly processes in colloids, liquid crystals and polymers, along with their applications in innovative contexts like in wearable technology and soft robotics.The ESMP group is led by Prof. Jan Lagerwall at the Physics & Materials Science Research Unit in the University of Luxembourg. We are interested in all fascinating aspects of soft matter (indeed, there are many!), but most of our research activities deal with liquid crystal formation in one way or another. This is the reason for our group's name & our website domain: lcsoftmatter.
(Please check out our links under the Home drop down menu for more info about our site, soft matter, & Jan)
Featured Papers
Liquid crystals in micron-scale droplets, shells and fibers
Martin Urbanski, Catherine G. Reyes, JungHyun Noh, Anshul Sharma, Yong Gang, Venkata Subba Rao Jampani, and Jan P. F. Lagerwall
Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, DOI: 10.1088/1361-648X/aa5706 (2017)
OPEN ACCESS
Non-electronic gas sensors from electrospun mats of liquid crystal core fibers for detecting volatile organic compounds at room temperature
Catherine G. Reyes, Anshul Sharma, and Jan P. F. Lagerwall
Liquid Crystals, DOI: 10.1080/02678292.2016.1212287 (2016)
OPEN ACCESS
Equilibrium Liquid Crystal Phase Diagrams and Detection of Kinetic Arrest in Cellulose Nanocrystal Suspensions
Camila Honorato-Rios, Anja Kuhnold, Johanna Bruckner, Rick Dannert, Tanja Schilling and Jan P. F. Lagerwall
Frontiers in Materials,
DOI: 10.3389/fmats.2016.00021 (2016)
OPEN ACCESS
Macroscopic control of helix orientation in films dried from cholesteric liquid crystalline cellulose nanocrystal suspensions
Ji Hyun Park, JungHyun Noh, Christina Schütz, German Salazar-Alvarez, Giusy Scalia, Lennart Bergström, and Jan P. F. Lagerwall
ChemPhysChem, DOI: 10.1002/cphc.201400062
(2014)
Liquid Crystal Functionalization of Electrospun Polymer Fibers (Perspective article)
Dae Kyom Kim, Minsik Hwang, Jan Lagerwall
J. Polym. Sci. B: Polym. Phys.,
DOI: 10.1002/polb.23285
(2013)
OPEN ACCESS
High-fidelity spherical cholesteric liquid crystal Bragg reflectors generating unclonable patterns for secure authentication
Yong Geng, JungHyun Noh, Irena Drevensek-Olenik, Romano Rupp,
Gabriele Lenzini and Jan P. F. Lagerwall
Scientific Reports,
DOI: 10.1038/srep26840
(2016)
OPEN ACCESS
Nanoparticles dispersed in liquid crystals: Impact on conductivity, low-frequency relaxation and electro-optical performance
Martin Urbanski, and Jan P. F. Lagerwall
J. Mater. Chem. C,
DOI: 10.1039/C6TC00659K
(2016)
Influence of interface stabilisers and surrounding aqueous phases on nematic liquid crystal shells
JungHyun Noh, Kevin Reguengo da Sousa and Jan P. F. Lagerwall (featured on the journal cover)
Soft Matter,
DOI:10.1039/C5SM01944C (2016)
Multifunctional responsive fibers produced by dual liquid crystal core electrospinning
YooMee Kye, Changsoon Kim and Jan P. F. Lagerwall
J. Mater. Chem. C
DOI: 10.1039/C5TC01707F
(2015)
Ultra-long ordered nanowires from the concerted self-assembly of discotic liquid crystal and solvent molecules
Ji Hyun Park , Kyung Ho Kim , Yung Woo Park , Jan P. F. Lagerwall , and Giusy Scalia
Langmuir,
DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b01332
(2015)
Rod Packing in Chiral Nematic Cellulose Nanocrystal Dispersions
Studied by Small-Angle X-ray Scattering and Laser Diffraction
Christina Schütz, Michael Agthe, Andreas B. Fall, Korneliya Gordeyeva, Valentina Guccini, Michaela Salajková,
Tomás S. Plivelic, Jan P. F. Lagerwall, German Salazar-Alvarez, and Lennart Bergström
Langmuir, 31, 23, 6507–6513 (2015)
Correlation between structural properties and iridescent colors of cellulose nanocrystalline films
M. Ličen, B. Majaron, J. Noh, C. Schütz, L. Bergström, J. Lagerwall, I. Drevenšek-Olenik, Cellulose, DOI 10.1007/s10570-016-1066-z (2016)
Enhancing Self-Assembly in Cellulose Nanocrystal Suspensions Using High-Permittivity Solvents
Johanna Bruckner, Anja Kuhnhold, Camila Honorato-Rios, Tanja Schilling and Jan P. F. Lagerwall, Langmuir, DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.6b02647 (2016)
Taming Liquid Crystal Self-Assembly: The Multifaceted Response of Nematic and Smectic Shells to Polymerization
J. Noh, B. Henx, J.P.F. Lagerwall
Adv., Mater, DOI 10.1002/adma.201603158 (2016)
Tunable Multicolored Patterns From Photonic Cross Communication Between Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Droplets
JungHyun Noh, Hsin-Ling Liang, Irena Drevensek-Olenik and Jan Lagerwall
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2, 5, p. 806 (2014)
Influence of Wetting on Morphology and Core Content in Electrospun Core–Sheath Fibers
Dae Kyom Kim and Jan Lagerwall
ACS Appl. Mater. Interf., 6, 18, 16441−16447 (2014)
Cellulose nanocrystal-based materials: from liquid crystal self- assembly and glass formation to multifunctional thin films
Jan Lagerwall, Christina Schütz, Michaela Salajkova, JungHyun Noh, Ji Hyun Park, Giusy Scalia and Lennart Bergström
NPG Asia Materials, 6, e80, doi:10.1038/am.2013.69 (2014)
OPEN ACCESS
Towards tunable defect arrangements in smectic liquid crystal shells utilizing the nematic-smectic transition in hybrid-aligned geometries
Hsin-Ling Liang, Rudolf Zentel, Per Rudquist and Jan Lagerwall
Soft Matter, 8, 20, pp. 5443 - 5450 (2012)
Utilizing the Krafft phenomenon for achieving ideal micelle-free surfactant-stabilized nanoparticle suspensions
Sarah Dölle, Bob-Dan Lechner, Ji Hyun Park, Stefan Schymura, Jan P. F. Lagerwall and Giusy Scalia
Angewandte Chemie - Int. Ed., 51, pp. 3254-3257 (2012)
Electrospun microfibres with temperature sensitive iridescence from encapsulated cholesteric liquid crystal
Eva Enz and Jan Lagerwall
J. Mater. Chem., 20, 33, pp. 6866-6872 (2010)
Demonstration of the antiferroelectric aspect of the helical superstructures in
Sm-C*, Sm-Cα* and Sm-Ca* liquid crystals
Jan P. F. Lagerwall
Phys. Rev. E, 71, pp. 051703 (2005)
Through the Spherical Looking-Glass: Asymmetry Enables Multicolored Internal Reflection in Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Shells
Yong Geng, Ju-Hyun Jang, Kyung-Gyu Noh, JungHyun Noh, Jan P. F. Lagerwall, and Soo-Young Park
Adv. Opt. Mater., 6, pp.1700923 (2017)
Electrospun Composite Liquid Crystal Elastomer Fibers
Anshul Sharma, and Jan P. F. Lagerwall
Materials, 11(3), 393 (2018) OPEN ACCESS
Sub-second dynamic phototuning of alignment in azodendrimer-doped nematic liquid crystal shells
JungHyunNoh, Venkata Subba Rao Jampani, OsamuHaba, KoichiroYonetake, HideoTakezoe, Jan P.F.Lagerwall
J. Of Molecular Liquids In Press (2018)
Microfluidic Tensiometry Technique for the Characterization of the Interfacial Tension between Immiscible Liquids
Lawrence W. Honaker, Jan P. F. Lagerwall, and V. S. R. Jampani
Langmuir, 2018, 34 (7), pp 2403–2409
Fractionation of cellulose nanocrystals: enhancing liquid crystal ordering without promoting gelation
Camila Honorato-Rios, Claudius Lehr, Christina Schütz, Roland Sanctuary, Mikhail A. Osipov, Jörg Baller & Jan P. F. Lagerwall
NPG Asia Materials (2018) doi:10.1038/s41427-018-0046-1
Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Shells as Enabling Material for Information‐Rich Design and Architecture
Mathew Schwartz Gabriele Lenzini Yong Geng Peter B. Rønne Peter Y. A. Ryan Jan P. F. Lagerwall
Adv. Mater. 2018, 1707382. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201707382 OPEN ACCESS
Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Shells as Enabling Material for Information‐Rich Design and Architecture
Mathew Schwartz Gabriele Lenzini Yong Geng Peter B. Rønne Peter Y. A. Ryan Jan P. F. Lagerwall
Adv. Mater. 2018, 1707382. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201707382
Liquid crystal elastomer shell actuators with negative order parameter
V. S. R. Jampani, R. H. Volpe, K. Reguengo de Sousa, J. Ferreira Machado, C. M. Yakacki and J. P. F. Lagerwall
Science Advances, 2019. Vol. 5, no. 4, eaaw2476, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw2476
Influence of head group and chain length of surfactants used for stabilising liquid crystal shells
Anjali Sharma & Jan P. F. Lagerwall
Liquid Crystals, 45:13-15, 2319-2328,
DOI: 10.1080/02678292.2018.1509391
Isotropic-Isotropic phase separation and spinodal decomposition in liquid crystal-solvent mixtures
Catherine G. Reyes, Jörg Baller,Takeaki Araki, and Jan P. F. Lagerwall
Soft Matter, 2019,15, 6044-6054, DOI:10.1039/C9SM00921C
Realignment of liquid crystal shells driven by temperature-dependent surfactant solubility
Anjali Sharma, Venkata Subba Rao Jampani, Jan P. F. Lagerwall
Langmuir 2019, 35, 34, 11132-11140, doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b00989
Elastic sheath–liquid crystal core fibresachieved by microfluidic wet spinningLawrence W. Honaker, Shameek Vats, Manos Anyfantakis and Jan P. F. Lagerwall
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2019, Advance Article, DOI:10.1039/C9TC03836A.
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