Polymer-dispersed liquid crystal composites for bio-applications: thermotropic, surface and optical properties

New polymer to enhance the permanent memory effect of polymer dispersed liquid crystal films

“…The electro‐optical properties of PDLC including the permanent memory effect are dependent on a series of factors such as polymerization conditions, structure of polymerizable monomer, the microstructure of the polymer matrix, the type, and the concentration of liquid crystal, among other factors. Due to these large numbers of parameters involved, it is difficult to affirm which are implicating in permanent memory effect.…”

Effects of droplet size and surfactants on anchoring in liquid crystal nanodroplets

“…In experimental works, LC droplets vary in size: while emulsion studies focus on LC droplets of 4-8 mm size, 12,28,29 or as large as 40-60 mm, 13,14,30 polymer-dispersed LC (PDLC) droplets can have size as low as 250-650 nm, 31 and in some cases even 20 nm. 32 It is known that different size droplets could yield different LC ordering under similar conditions.…”

Surfactant-doped reverse-mode polymer-dispersed liquid crystal display with enhanced properties

“…[8,9] To date, several techniques have been proposed for the vertical alignment (VA) of positive and negative anisotropic LCs, such as rubbing of polyimide layer [10] photo-alignment [11] cetyltrimethylammonium bromide coatings on indium tin oxide (ITO) surfaces [12] and applying magnetic field. [13,14] Recent studies showed the vertical alignment of LC molecules is achieved just by utilizing the polysulfone polymer [15] and anionic-surfactant [16] in PDLC mixtures. The potential reason behind this behaviour was described as the decrease in surface free/anchoring energy with the substrate by using such materials.…”

“…The potential reason behind this behaviour was described as the decrease in surface free/anchoring energy with the substrate by using such materials. [15,16] The surfactants (anionic, the nonionic and the cationic) are distinct group of chemicals that have surface-active properties. They are widely utilised in the household and the industrial products for cleaning or solubilisation purposes.…”