Nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged as extremely promising materials to alter and improve the properties of liquid crystals (LCs) used, for example, in device applications. In this paper, we summarise recent work from our lab that aims to provide a fundamental understanding of structure–property and composition–property relationships governing LC–NP interactions, which may point to new directions for major improvements in the efficiency of LCs used in display applications. A variety of LC hosts (phases) doped with surface-functionalised gold NPs have been systematically studied ranging from one-dimensionally ordered nematic over two-dimensionally ordered smectic to three-dimensionally ordered columnar phases. Significant progress with respect to LC–NP interactions was made for NP-doped nematic phases. Here, the observation of an unusual texture for Au NP-doped nematic LCs, that is, the formation of birefringent stripe textures and the induction of homeotropic alignment of the nematic LC similar to chiral finger (or fingerprint) textures, provided the basis for numerous experimental studies using Au NPs with different core sizes and surface functionalities.
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