A brief review of carbazole-based photorefractive liquid crystalline materials

Liquid crystals are commonplace in technological devices, such as watch and computer displays and temperature and pressure monitors. Such materials are central to our technological lifestyles. Classically, liquid crystalline materials are based on a structural motif which could be classed as rod-like (e.g. biphenyl derivatives) and in more recent times as disc-like (e.g. triphenylene derivatives). The rod-like materials are very attractive in terms of their chemical stability and their response to electric fields, both of which are a prerequisite for display devices, whereas disc-like materials show promise as one-dimensional conducting materials. Increasing scientific and technological requirements mean that new materials are continually sought to surpass the liquid crystalline materials which are presently known. Carbazole derivatives are well-known interesting natural products. Several methods have been developed and reported in the literature for the synthesis of carbazole derivatives. There are several review articles published on the photorefractive properties of carbazole-based materials. Chemical modification of the carbazole moiety to create a new class of discotic, calamitic and banana-shaped liquid crystalline materials, which will have novel and enhanced photorefractive properties over the amorphous carbazole derivatives, will be discussed in this mini review.