Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal, PDLC, are composite materials formed by liquid crystal droplets embedded in a polymer matrix. They allow to simultaneously exploit the electro-optical properties of liquid crystals and the mechanical properties of polymers, giving rise to interesting electro-optical devices such as smart windows. In this work monomer/LC mixtures in different weight ratios were polymerised in the presence of an external magnetic field to obtain PDLCs, whose director was aligned along the field direction. The time behaviour of LC order parameter was followed by 2H-NMR and the final morphology of PDLCs was investigated by SEM. Then, the electro-optical properties of PDLCs prepared in the absence of any magnetic field were investigated and correlated to the order parameter measurements, confirming the strong correlation between large order parameters and optimal electro-optical properties
Order parameter and electro-optical properties in polymer-dispersed liquid crystals
De Filpo G.;Baratta M.;De Luca G.;Nicoletta F. P.
2021-01-01
Abstract
Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal, PDLC, are composite materials formed by liquid crystal droplets embedded in a polymer matrix. They allow to simultaneously exploit the electro-optical properties of liquid crystals and the mechanical properties of polymers, giving rise to interesting electro-optical devices such as smart windows. In this work monomer/LC mixtures in different weight ratios were polymerised in the presence of an external magnetic field to obtain PDLCs, whose director was aligned along the field direction. The time behaviour of LC order parameter was followed by 2H-NMR and the final morphology of PDLCs was investigated by SEM. Then, the electro-optical properties of PDLCs prepared in the absence of any magnetic field were investigated and correlated to the order parameter measurements, confirming the strong correlation between large order parameters and optimal electro-optical propertiesI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
