Effects of crosslinking agent/diluents/thiol on morphology of the polymer matrix and electro-optical properties of polymer-dispersed liquid crystal

ABSTRACT

To study effects of the crosslinking agent/diluents/thiol on morphology of the polymer matrix and the electro-optical properties of polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films, samples were prepared by ultraviolet (UV)-initiated polymerisation. Due to the interaction between thiol–acrylate reaction and acrylate monomers polymerisation, the sample compositions were the foremost determinant to the microstructures which in turn played an essential role on the electro-optical properties of the PDLC films. With the increasing content of the crosslinking agent, the LC droplet size decreased, while the thiol had a contrary effect on the LC droplet size. It was demonstrated that the superior properties of the low-driven voltage (37.2 V), the high contrast ratio (148.2), the short response time (14.9 ms) and the high saturation transmittance (86.6%) could benefit from a novel microstructure which had a dense surface and meshes with microspheres attached. It was of great significance for the optimisation and the potential applications of the PDLC films.

Graphical Abstract

KEYWORDS:

• Polymer-dispersed liquid crystal
• ultraviolet-initiated polymerisation
• thiol–acrylate
• electro-optical properties

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51673023, 51373024, 51573003, 51333001 and 51372029).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [51673023, 51373024, 51573003, 51333001, 51372029, 51573101].