AbstractSome classes of liquid crystalline monoacrylates having no methylene spacers in a side chain have been prepared. The liquid crystalline monoacrylates have effects to reduce the driving voltage and the hysteresis for a light scattering display of Polymer Network liquid crystals prepared by photo-polymerization-induced phase separation.By photo-polymerization of a chiral monoacrylate monomer in a nematic liquid crystalline host including a black dichroic dye, a polarizer free reflective Spiral Polymer Aligned Nematic (SPAN) Guest Host (GH) LCD exhibiting a low driving voltage has been fabricated. The effect of the spiral polymers made of some kinds of chiral monoacrylates for a Super Twisted Nematic (STN) LCD using SPAN liquid crystals is discussed.UV-curable liquid crystals showing nematic phases at room temperature have been developed. By in situ photo-polymerization, the UV-curable liquid crystals can be utilized for the retardation film with high quality and good thermal stability. The fabrication of various kinds of retardation film using the UV-curable liquid crystals is discussed.UV-curable liquid crystals having isotropic-nematic-smectic A phase sequence have been developed and the photo-polymerization at the state of their uniaxially oriented smectic A phases at room temperature is discussed. The polymerized film is optically uniaxial and transparent without light scattering.
Flexible polymer network liquid crystals using imprinted spacers bonded by UV-curable reactive mesogen for smart window applications
