Liquid crystals

Liquid crystals can be divided into three main types: thermotropic, lyotropic, and metallotropic. Thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystals consist mostly of organic molecules, although a few minerals are also known. Thermotropic LCs exhibit a phase transition into the LC phase as temperature changes. Lyotropic LCs exhibit phase transitions as a function of both temperature and concentration of molecules in a solvent (typically water). Metallotropic LCs are composed of both organic and inorganic molecules; their LC transition additionally depends on the inorganic-organic composition ratio.