EN
The peculiar properties of Liquid Crystals (LCs)
foster new possibilities in plasmonics. The combination
of the intrinsic tunability of LCs with the plasmonic
properties of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) provides novel
and intriguing features of systems commonly identified
as active plasmonics. Being LCs, one of the media whose
refractive index can be controlled through the application
of external stimuli, they represent a convenient host
for enabling plasmonic tunability. On the other hand,
the localized plasmonic resonance, typical of NPs, can
strongly influence and control the behaviour of LCs. In this
paper, we overview several systems of NPs combined with
LCs arranged in different configurations. The properties of
the resulting systems suggest novel, intriguing outcomes
in both fundamental and applied research.