Influence of SiO₂ nanoparticles on electro-optical and thermophysical properties of polyacrylate/liquid crystal composites

ABSTRACT

In this paper, SiO₂ nanoparticle-doped polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) lenses are made from a mixture of prepolymer, 5CB liquid crystal and SiO₂ nanoparticles by the polymerisation induced phase separation (PIPS) process. The effect of SiO₂ nanoparticles on the electro-optical properties of PDLC films are studied. It is established that SiO₂ nanoparticles affect the microstructure of PDLC films significantly because of the formed agglomerates of SiO₂ nanoparticles. Results show an improvement in the electro-optical properties and a decrease in the response time for doped systems with small amount of SiO₂ nanoparticles. We also observe a shift of nematic–isotropic transition temperature as a function of SiO₂ nanoparticle contents. A good agreement between the electro-optical study and thermophysical properties is reached.

Graphical abstract

KEYWORDS:

• EGPEMA
• SiO₂ nanoparticles
• liquid crystal 5CB
• phases separation
• electro-optical properties

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.