Liquid crystal-based technologies have evolved explosively over these last few decades in other than display applications. One of the examples is 4-Cyano-4′-alkylbiphenyl (nCB), which is a well-known thermotropic liquid crystal (LC) material, commonly used in numerous advanced photonic materials and electro-optical devices. Owing to their uncomplicated method of synthesis and high optical birefringence, these molecules have been very well characterised by noticeable and efficient use in optical instruments. The present review emphasizes on the molecular structure, synthesis, crystal data and LC properties of the various nCB materials. Further, their latest applications in the fields of sensors, smart windows, liquid crystal lenses, PV cells, supercapacitors and drug delivery have been covered in detail beyond their regular display applications. This review will encourage researchers to carry out further research into the diverse applications of LC molecules.

在过去的几十年中，基于液晶的技术在显示应用以外的领域得到了爆炸性的发展。其中一个例子是 4-氰基-4'-烷基联苯 (nCB)，它是一种众所周知的热致液晶 (LC) 材料，常用于许多先进的光子材料和电光器件。由于其简单的合成方法和高光学双折射，这些分子在光学仪器中的显着和有效使用已得到很好的表征。本综述重点介绍了各种 nCB 材料的分子结构、合成、晶体数据和 LC 特性。此外，他们在传感器、智能窗、液晶透镜、光伏电池、超级电容器和药物输送领域的最新应用已超出常规显示应用的详细介绍。