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Subject: search.filters.subject.540Author: search.filters.author.Dieterich, Sonja

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    Micellar lyotropic gels : the interplay between gel network and liquid-crystalline order
    (2021) Dieterich, Sonja; Gießelmann, Frank (Prof. Dr.)
    Surfactant based lyotropic liquid-crystalline (LLC) gels in the sense that genuine micellar LLC phases are immobilized by an interpenetrating gel network were practically unknown until 2016. This “blind spot” in the landscape of anisotropic gels has now been filled to a certain extent by the results of this dissertation. Following the rational design strategy to gel surfactant based LLC phases with the help of low molecular mass gelators (LMWGs), not only lamellar and hexagonal LLC gels, but also the very first example of micellar nematic gels were obtained. Furthermore, this work has led to first important insights into how the self assembly of the gel is directed and how the gel network and the LLC phase mutually influence each other in terms of structure and morphology
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    Micellar lyotropic nematic gels
    (2021) Dieterich, Sonja; Stemmler, Friedrich; Preisig, Natalie; Giesselmann, Frank
    Lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC) gels are a new class of liquid crystal (LC) networks that combine the anisotropy of micellar LLCs with the mechanical stability of a gel. However, so far, only micellar LLC gels with lamellar and hexagonal structures have been obtained by the addition of gelators to LLCs. Here, the first examples of lyotropic nematic gels are presented. The key to obtain these nematic gels is the use of gelators that have a non‐amphiphilic molecular structure and thus leave the size and shape of the micellar aggregates essentially unchanged. By adding these gelators to lyotropic nematic phases, an easy and reproducible way to obtain large amounts of lyotropic nematic gels is established. These nematic gels preserve the long‐range orientational order and optical birefringence of a lyotropic nematic phase but have the mechanical stability of a gel. LLC nematic gels are promising new materials for elastic and anisotropic hydrogels to be applied as water‐based stimuli‐responsive actuators and sensors.