Soft matter is characterized by a high degree of complexity, emergent physical properties, and the ability to respond to different external stimuli, making these materials highly attractive both for fundamental science and technological applications. Among soft materials, liquid crystals have been extensively investigated using a variety of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques.
After a brief introduction to the basic principles of NMR, including an overview of some of the most common NMR techniques used to study molecular systems in the liquid state or in solution, the course will focus on the investigation of anisotropic systems by means of NMR spectroscopy, with particular emphasis on liquid crystals and, more generally, partially ordered materials. Through selected significant examples taken from the scientific literature, several techniques, such as static one-dimensional and two-dimensional 2H NMR experiments, 1H and 2H NMR relaxation…