Steric group-based polymer dispersed liquid crystal composite films with high contrast ratio, low driving voltage and small hysteresis

Preparation and Application of Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal Film with Step-Driven Display Capability

“…The T off value of PDLC films primarily depended on the morphology of the polymer network and the level of refractive index matching. The introduction of AMCA into the PDLC compound system increased the amount of interfaces between the polymer matrix and the LC microdroplets, leading to a stronger ability of the PDLC film to scatter incident light, which resulted in a lower T off and a higher CR [ 55 ]. However, as the content of AMCA gradually increased within the system, the corresponding pore size of the polymer network gradually increased.…”

Impact of crosslinking agents with steric cyclic groups on the properties of polymer-dispersed liquid crystals

“…[23][24][25] Numerous acrylate and methacrylate monomers have also been investigated, including monomers with different end groups and different lengths or flexibility of alkyl chains. [26][27][28] Besides, some uniquely designed monomers have been synthesized and verified to improve the overall performances. 29,30 In addition to the optimized mono-functional monomers, the choice of crosslinking agents used during the fabrication process can also significantly affect the properties of the polymer matrix, which further influences the driving voltages, switching speed, mechanical strength and other characteristics of PDLCs.…”

“…Different from the flexible-chain crosslinking agents such as polyethylene glycol diacrylates and 1,4-butanediol diacrylate in literature, the crosslinking agents herein contain some cyclic groups as the bridge bond and are more or less rigid. 27,28,[32][33][34] Results revealed that a balance between flexible and rigid reactive monomers was important to improve film performance. The research can provide references for optimizing the electro-optical performance of PDLC films by elaborately designing the chemical structure of crosslinking agents to match the polymerizing acrylate monomer.…”