Effect of preparation conditions on the electro-optical performance and the polymer morphology of polymer-dispersed liquid crystals with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) microstructure

Abstract

In this work, the effects of the preparation conditions on the electro-optical performance and the polymer morphology of the polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) samples in which the polymer matrix contained polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) microstructure were studied. The results confirmed the dramatic improvement effect of POSS microstructure for the electro-optical properties of PDLC. Moreover, the electro-optical performance and the polymer morphology of the PDLC samples with POSS microstructure can be regulated successfully by the preparation conditions, such as UV light intensity and polymerization temperatures. This work can provide a way for regulating methods for PDLC films.

Keywords:

• Electro-optical performance
• Polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs)
• polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)
• preparation conditions
• polymer morphology

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Natural Science Basic Research Plan in Shaanxi Province of China (No.2021GY-205, No.2021JM-536, No.2021JM-531, No.2021JQ-877, and No.2021JM-534), Scientific Research Program Funded by Shaanxi Provincial Education Department (No.20JK0959, No.21JK0959, and No.20JK0968). Scientific research fund for high-level talents of Xijing University (No. XJ21B02, No. XJ21B04, NO. XJ20B10, and NO. XJ20B02), and the Youth Innovation Team of Shaanxi Universities.