Impact of nanoscale particles and carbon nanotubes on current and future generations of liquid crystal displays

In this Highlight article we will describe the current impact of nanoscale materials (nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes) in liquid crystal nanocomposites on the improvement of LC display (LCD) applications, an industry currently worth more than $60 billion per year. First tendencies clearly demonstrate the potential of nanomaterials to improve upon current LCD technologies with the discovery of new or modified switching modes, lower operating voltages, faster switching speeds, and higher contrast ratios—enormous advantages in a world with more LCDs than people (see ref. : D. W. Bruce, J. W. Goodby, J. R. Sambles and H. J. Coles, Introduction: New directions in liquid crystal science, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A, 2006, 364, 2567–2571).