Liquid-crystal nanoscience: an emerging avenue of soft self-assembly

Liquid crystals are finding increasing applications in a wide variety of fields including liquid-crystal display technology, materials science, bioscience, etc., apart from acting as prototype self-organizable supramolecular soft materials and tunable solvents. Recently, keeping in pace with topical science, liquid crystals have entered into the fascinating domains of nanoscience and nanotechnology. This tutorial review describes the recent and significant developments in liquid-crystal nanoscience embracing contemporary nanomaterials such as nanoparticles, nanorods, nanotubes, nanoplatelets, etc. The dispersion of zero-, one- and two-dimensional nanomaterials in liquid crystals for the enhancement of properties, liquid-crystalline phase behavior of nanomaterials themselves, self-assembly and alignment of nanomaterials in liquid-crystalline media, and the synthesis of nanomaterials by using liquid crystals as 'templates' or 'precursors' have been highlighted and discussed. It is almost certain that the 'fourth state of matter' will play more prevalent roles in nanoscience and nanotechnology in the near future. Moreover, liquid-crystal nanoscience reflects itself as a beautiful demonstration of the contemporary theme "crossing the borders: science without boundaries''.