I am currently into liquid crystals and have no related background. Can someone tell me which book is the most instructive one to learn basics of liquid crystals? I am more interested in different phases/textures of liquid crystals.
Textures of Liquid Crystals by Ingo Dierking is good book related to your topic. Also you can find some basics on LC in a book chapter "An Overview of Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal Composite Films and Their Applications" by IntechOpen.
- Birenda Bahadur, Liquid Crystals Applications and Uses Vol. 1 and II. (IBSN 981-02-0110-9 and 981-02-0111-7 respectively).
Forward to that, you likely know you're at a great place (Akron) being not to distant from Kent State - a world renown center of excellence for LC research.
Definitely the best book is :Introduction to Liquid Crystals: Chemistry and Physics, ( 2nd Edition), by Peter J. Collings, John W. Goodby, CRC Press, 2019