Polymer Matrix on Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystals Electro-Optical Properties

2013 ◽  
Vol 677 ◽  
pp. 183-187
Author(s):  
Huey Ling Chang ◽  
Chih Ming Chen
Keyword(s):  
Optical Properties ◽  
Liquid Crystal ◽  
Liquid Crystals ◽  
Polymer Matrix ◽  
Contrast Ratio ◽  
Butyl Methacrylate ◽  
Driving Voltage ◽  
Ethyl Methacrylate ◽  
Vis Spectroscopy ◽  
Polymer Dispersed

Polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films are fabricated with various compositions of E7 liquid crystal (LC), 2-Hydroxy ethyl methacrylate (HEMA), Methyl methacrylate (MMA), n-butyl methacrylate (nBMA), Ethyl methacrylate (EMA), Tetraethylene glycol diacrylate (TEGDA), and Benzoin. The results show that the refractive index of the PDLC films is insensitive to the monomer side groups. The effects of different monomers addition on the microstructure, the corresponding polymer matrix motion and electro-optical properties of the PDLC samples are examined using Dynamic Mechanical Analyzers (DMA) and UV-Vis spectroscopy, respectively. The experimental results reveal that the addition of HEMA and TEGDA yields a considerable improvement in the electro-optical properties and the contrast ratio. Overall, the results show that a PDLC comprising 40wt% E7 liquid crystals, 50mol% TeGDA and 50mol% HEMA has both a high contrast ratio (12.75:1) and a low driving voltage (16 V), and is therefore a suitable candidate for smart window and a wide variety of intelligent photoelectric applications.

Infrared Microscopic Imaging of the Diffusion of Liquid Crystals into Thermoplastics

1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (S2) ◽  
pp. 841-842
Author(s):  
Bentley G. Wall ◽  
Chris M. Snively ◽  
Jack L. Koenig
Keyword(s):  
Refractive Index ◽  
Optical Properties ◽  
Liquid Crystal ◽  
Liquid Crystals ◽  
Electric Field ◽  
Polymer Matrix ◽  
Thermoplastic Polymer ◽  
General Direction ◽  
Display Devices ◽  
Polymer Dispersed

Thermoplastic polymer/liquid crystal systems have found application in the generation of display devices known as thermoplastic, polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs). These systems take advantage of the beneficial properties of both components to generate a device that has unique optical properties. The liquid crystal is dielectric and responds to an electric field. The polymer confines the liquid crystal so that the cells are closed. The two components are melted together until they are miscible. At lower temperatures, the two components phase separate. The liquid crystal component is the minor phase and takes the form of many tiny droplets contained within the major-phase, polymer matrix. An application of an electric field across these systems causes the liquid crystal within the droplets to align with the field. The systems are engineered such that when this alignment occurs there is no refractive index difference between the liquid crystal in the droplets and the polymer matrix, thus, the cells appear optically transparent. When there is no field applied, the liquid crystals in each droplet are aligned without respect to a general direction according to the surface energetics of each droplet/polymer interface. When this is the case, there is a refractive index mismatch between the droplets and the polymer and the cells are opaque. Research of these systems is aimed at improving the optical properties in order to facilitate the manufacturing of improved devices utilizing this technology. Because these systems are generated by a diffusion-controlled, phase separation process, understanding the relevant parameters, particularly the diffusion coefficients, should enable the manufacturing processes of these systems to be controlled more efficiently, generating improved optical properties.

Dichroic Dye Induced Nonlinearity in Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal Materials for Display Devices

2012 ◽  
Vol 584 ◽  
pp. 79-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajendra Deshmukh ◽  
Manoj Malik ◽  
Sanmesh Parab
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Crystal ◽  
Phase Separation ◽  
Electronic Materials ◽  
Contrast Ratio ◽  
Optical Microscope ◽  
Driving Voltage ◽  
Constant Intensity ◽  
Uv Illumination ◽  
Vis Spectroscopy ◽  
Polymer Dispersed

The electro-optical characteristics of dye-doped polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) have been investigated for display applications. The PDLC samples were obtained by polymerization induced phase separation of the nematic liquid crystal (LC)-dye-prepolymer mixtures under UV illumination with a constant intensity. The optimum conditions for the scattering characteristics of the dye-doped PDLC films as function of the dye concentration have been examined. It was seen that the phase separation and segregation of LC droplets is dependent on the amount of dye used. LC droplets in dye-doped PDLC films exhibit various configurations at lower and higher applied electric field when observed in situ under polarizing optical microscope. The effects of morphology on the electro-optical properties were examined. Experimental results indicate that the driving voltage and contrast ratio were affected considerably by the amount of dye. UV-VIS spectroscopy results showed that the molecular orientation of dye in LC droplets can be controlled to induce nonlinearity in these materials. The results showed that the dye concentration can be optimized to obtain promising electronic materials with minimum threshold and high contrast for display applications.

scholarly journals High-Performance Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal Enabled by Uniquely Designed Acrylate Monomer

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rijeesh Kizhakidathazhath ◽  
Hiroya Nishikawa ◽  
Yasushi Okumura ◽  
Hiroki Higuchi ◽  
Hirotsugu Kikuchi
Keyword(s):  
Optical Properties ◽  
Liquid Crystal ◽  
Low Voltage ◽  
Polymer Networks ◽  
Mesh Size ◽  
Laser Scanning Microscopy ◽  
Present System ◽  
Driving Voltage ◽  
Acrylate Monomer ◽  
Polymer Dispersed

The widespread electro–optical applications of polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) are hampered by their high-driving voltage. Attempts to fabricate PDLC devices with low driving voltage sacrifice other desirable features of PDLCs. There is thus a clear need to develop a method to reduce the driving voltage without diminishing other revolutionary features of PDLCs. Herein, we report a low-voltage driven PDLC system achieved through an elegantly simple and uniquely designed acrylate monomer (A3DA) featuring a benzene moiety with a dodecyl terminal chain. The PDLC films were fabricated by the photopolymerization of mono- and di-functional acrylate monomers (19.2 wt%) mixed in a nematic liquid crystal E7 (80 wt%). The PDLC film with A3DA exhibited an abrupt decline of driving voltage by 75% (0.55 V/μm) with a high contrast ratio (16.82) while maintaining other electro–optical properties almost the same as the reference cell. The response time was adjusted to satisfactory by tuning the monomer concentration while maintaining the voltage significantly low (3 ms for a voltage of 0.98 V/μm). Confocal laser scanning microscopy confirmed the polyhedral foam texture morphology with an average mesh size of approximately 2.6 μm, which is less in comparison with the mesh size of reference PDLC (3.4 μm), yet the A3DA-PDLC showed low switching voltage. Thus, the promoted electro–optical properties are believed to be originated from the unique polymer networks formed by A3DA and its weak anchoring behavior on LCs. The present system with such a huge reduction in driving voltage and enhanced electro–optical performance opens up an excellent way for abundant perspective applications of PDLCs.

Influence of the Polymer Matrix on the Bipolar and Radial Droplet Configurations within PDLC Films Examined by Infrared Spectroscopy

1993 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 598-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Coleen A. McFarland ◽  
Jack L. Koenig ◽  
John L. West
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Liquid Crystal ◽  
Polymer Matrix ◽  
Butyl Methacrylate ◽  
Droplet Growth ◽  
Thermally Induced ◽  
Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal ◽  
Polymer Dispersed ◽  
Ft Ir ◽  
Configuration Changes

The influence of the polymer matrix on the liquid crystal droplet configuration within a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) film is studied with the use of infrared spectroscopy. With a change of the polymer from poly( n-butyl methacrylate) to poly(isobutyl methacrylate) with the use of E7 liquid crystal, the droplet configuration changes from bipolar to radial. For both of these PDLC systems with 80:20, 70:30, and 60:40 E7/polymer compositions, the LC droplets grow in diameter with time. The spectroscopic data monitoring the droplet growth are described exponentially. A transition temperature is observed as both types of PDLCs cool, forming droplets by the thermally induced phase-separation technique. The TN-I, transition for the E7/PBMA PDLC appears at 46°C and for the E7/PIBMA PDLC appears at 51°C. Index Headings: FT-IR spectroscopy; Polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLC).

Viewing Angle Measurement of Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal

2011 ◽  
Vol 181-182 ◽  
pp. 79-82
Author(s):  
Xing Fang Jiang ◽  
Shu Xin Wu
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Crystal ◽  
Liquid Crystals ◽  
Angle Measurement ◽  
Driving Voltage ◽  
Viewing Angle ◽  
Liquid Crystal Device ◽  
Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal ◽  
Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystals ◽  
Voltage Dependent ◽  
Polymer Dispersed

Polymer-dispersed liquid crystals are one kind of important devices. With a He-Ne laser and a photoelectric detector, we measured the driving-voltage dependent and viewing-angle dependent transmission for a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal device. Our results showed that the polymer-dispersed liquid crystal device worked at the driving voltage of 4 V and the effective viewing angle of about 65 degree.

scholarly journals Electro-Optical Effects of a Color Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal Device by Micro-Encapsulation with a Pigment-Doped Shell

Crystals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 364
Author(s):  
Chao Ping Chen ◽  
Dae Soo Kim ◽  
Chul Gyu Jhun
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Crystal ◽  
Liquid Crystals ◽  
Gum Arabic ◽  
Color Filter ◽  
Driving Voltage ◽  
Uniform Size ◽  
Scattering State ◽  
Optical Effects ◽  
Polymer Dispersed ◽  
Color Scheme

Polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) refer to nematic liquid crystals, which are embedded in a polymer matrix. A conventional PDLC device is fabricated by phase separation. However, this method leads to non-uniform electro-optical characteristics of the device due to the non-uniform size distribution of the liquid crystal droplets. Moreover, the PDLC device is switched between the transparent state and the scattering state so that a full color scheme is intrinsically impossible without a color filter. In this paper, a fabrication method for a color PDLC device with uniform size and shape for liquid crystal droplets is proposed. Droplets of a fairly uniform size in large quantities can be obtained by means of membrane emulsification. Microcapsules are fabricated by complex coacervation with gelatin and gum arabic. By adding red, green, and blue pigments, color microcapsules are obtained. The electro-optical effects of the fabricated color PDLC devices are also demonstrated. The driving voltage of the device is 90 V, and the switching time is 8.3 ms. In the turn-on state, the measured hazes of red, green, and blue PDLC devices are 16.89%, 15.82%, and 18.55%, respectively, while in the turn-off state, the measured hazes of those devices are 65.21%, 67.32%, and 70.76%, respectively.

NMR Characterization of Liquid Crystal—Polymer Interactions in Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystals

1997 ◽  
Vol 51 (11) ◽  
pp. 1639-1643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter A. Mirau ◽  
Mohan Srentvasarao
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Crystal ◽  
Liquid Crystals ◽  
Liquid Crystal Polymer ◽  
Butyl Methacrylate ◽  
Magic Angle ◽  
Crystal Polymer ◽  
Nmr Characterization ◽  
Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystals ◽  
Polymer Dispersed ◽  
Polymer Interactions

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and optical microscopy have been used to study liquid crystal–polymer interactions in polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) composed of the E7 liquid crystal mixture and poly( n-butyl methacrylate) or poly(isobutyl methacrylate). As previously reported, the droplets adopt a bipolar configuration in the PDLCs using poly( n-butyl methacrylate) as the matrix material and a radial configuration in those using poly(isobutyl methacrylate). The NMR signals from the E7 cannot be detected in the bulk state by using magic angle spinning and cross-polarization because of its liquid-like properties. The E7 and the polymer signals are only weakly cross-polarized in 60:40 E7/poly( n-butyl methacrylate) PDLCs but are strongly cross-polarized in the PDLCs with poly(isobutyl methacrylate). We suggest that the differences are due to a change in the surface-anchoring conditions and that NMR spectroscopy may provide a molecular-level probe of the forces that control droplet configuration and the electro-optical properties of these materials.

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