TiO₂ nanorod arrays induced broad-band reflection in chiral nematic liquid crystals with photo-polymerization network

ABSTRACT

A series of TiO₂ nanorod arrays were obtained by hydrothermal reaction, then the morphologies were characterized and analysed. In the light polymerization condition, different morphologies of TiO₂ nanorod arrays and chiral nematic liquid crystalline (N*-LCs) media were combined to prepare broad-band reflectors. By adjusting the length and interval size of the TiO₂ nanorod arrays, the reflection spectra and the positions of the reflected spectrum and the reflected bandwidth can be controlled accordingly. As a result, the effect of polymerization temperatures and morphologies of TiO₂ nanorod arrays on the broad-band reflection in the N*-LC composite system has been investigated. Potential applications of the composite were related to brightness enhancement films, bandwidth-controllable reflective polarizers and near-infrared light blocking films.

Graphical Abstract

KEYWORDS:

• Liquid crystals
• TiO₂ nanorod arrays
• broad-band reflection
• hydrothermal synthesis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Key Basic Research Program of China [2014CB931804], the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant No. 51373024, 51473020, 51673023, 61370048], the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [Grant No. FRF-TP-15-003A3].