Ferronematic Liquid Crystalline Materials: Its Fascination and Recent Developments

Abstract

A ferronematic (NF) LC, in which the local nematic director is non-degenerate, is of great fundamental and practical interest. Since prediction on NF phase by Debye and Born 100 years ago, although an experimental evidence on the presence of NF phase in some polymer liquid crystals, in low molecular mass materials it has unrevealed. However, more recently, the long-awaited NF phase has been found in archetypal molecules, RM734 and DIO which would usher in an entirely new era in the history of liquid crystals. In this presentation, we would like to introduce the features and recent achievements on NFLCs.