Mesophase Behaviour at the Borderline between Calamitic and “Banana-shaped” Mesogens -- Physical Properties of Banana Liquid Crystals -- Atomistic-Resolution Structural Studies of Liquid Crystalline Materials Using Solid-State NMR Techniques -- Separated Local Field Nmr Spectroscopy in Columnar Liquid Crystals -- Phase Biaxiality in Nematic Liquid Crystals -- NMR Study of Self-Diffusion -- Structure and Dynamics of Thermotropic Liquid Crystalline Polymers by NMR Spectroscopy -- Recent Experimental Developments at the Nematic to Smectic-A Liquid Crystal Phase Transition -- Liquid Crystalline Conjugated Polymers – Synthesis and Properties -- Fast Switching of Nematic Liquid Crystals by an Electric Field: Effects of Dielectric Relaxation on the Director and Thermal Dynamics -- Photoconducting Discotic Liquid Crystals.

Thermotropic Liquid Crystals: Recent Advances covers developments in the field of thermotropic liquid crystals and their functional importance. In addition it presents advances related to different sub-areas pertinent to this interdisciplinary area of research. This text brings together research from synthetic scientists and spectroscopists and attempts to bridge the gaps between these two areas. Recent studies have reported a plethora of novel mesogenic molecules which triggered new interest in this area of research. Use of design concepts such as microphase segregation, non-covalent interactions, dipole-dipole interactions and shape anisotropy enabled the incorporation of any chemical structure into a liquid crystal. As a result, a range of exciting molecules such as columnar liquid crystals that lack side chains, liquid crystalline dendrimers, and unusually shaped amphiphilic molecules have been made. Characterization of these surprising molecules poses a tremendous challenge to existing physical techniques. This comprehensive text has chapters covering the applications of high-resolution methods, such as solid-state NMR, that have been used to understand the high-resolution structure, dynamics, orientation, and orientational order of these molecules in various phases. This book will prove to be an invaluable resource to students, researchers, and academics active in Chemistry, Material Science, and Nano-science programs. It will also be of interest to Scientists from industries that focus on this research.