Uniform Dispersion of Liquid Crystal Droplets in the Polymer Matrix by Chemical Affinity Difference-Induced Phase Separation

Abstract

We proposed a method to obtain uniformly dispersed liquid crystal (LC) droplets in the polymer matrix. Polymer spacers were formed on the bottom substrate and the LC–reactive monomer (RM) mixture was injected between the substrates in the isotropic phase. After cooling to the room temperature, the RM molecules which have higher chemical affinity to the polymer spacers were diffused to the polymer spacers. Simultaneously, the LC molecules were separated from the RM molecules and formed homogenously dispersed droplets with a uniform size. The phase retardation, mechanical tolerance, and response time of the cell suggested were examined.