Rebirth of Liquid Crystals for Sensoric Applications: Environmental and Gas Sensors

Films and droplets of liquid crystalsmay soon become an essential part of sensitive environmental sensors and detectors of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air. In this paper a short overview of recent progress in the area of sensors based on liquid crystals is presented, along with the studies of low molar mass liquid crystals as gas sensors. The detection of VOCs in the air may rely on each of the following effects sequentially observed one after the other: (i) slight changes in orientation and order parameter of liquid crystal, (ii) formation of bubbles on the top of the liquid crystalline droplet, and (iii) complete isotropisation of the liquid crystal. These three stages can be easily monitored by a photo camera and/or optical microscopy. Detection limits corresponding to the first stage are typically lower by a factor of at least 3-6 than detection limits corresponding to isotropisation. The qualitative model taking into account the reorientation of liquid crystals is presented to account for the observed changes.