We synthesized a series of polystyrene derivatives modified with precursors of liquid crystal (LC) molecules, including 4-(trans-4-ethylcyclohexyl)phenol (homopolymer PECH and copolymer PECH#; # = 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, 60, and 80, where # indicates the molar fraction of 4-(trans-4-ethylcyclohexyl)phenoxymethyl in the side chain), 4-(trans-4-propylcyclohexyl)phenol (PPCH), 4-(trans-4-butylcyclohexyl)phenol (PBCH), and 4-(trans-4-amylcyclohexyl)phenol (PAmCH) via polymer modification reactions in order to investigate the orientation of LC molecules on polymer films exhibiting part of the LC molecular structure. A stable and uniform vertical orientation of LC molecules was observed in LC cells fabricated with PECH#, having 15 mol% or more of 4-(trans-4-ethylcyclohexyl)phenoxymethyl side groups. In addition, the vertical orientation of LC molecules was observed in LC cells fabricated with homopolymers of PECH, PPCH, PBCH, and PAmCH. The water contact angle on the polymer films could be associated with the vertical orientation of the LC molecules in the LC cells fabricated with polymer films. For example, a vertical LC orientation was observed when the water contact angle of the polymer films was higher than ~81°. Good orientation stability was observed at 200 °C and 15 mW/cm2 of UV irradiation for LC cells fabricated with PECH films.

We synthesized a series of polystyrene derivatives modified with precursors of liquid crystal (LC) molecules via polymer modification reactions. Thereafter, the orientation of the LC molecules on the polymer films, which possess part of the corresponding LC molecular structure, was investigated systematically. The precursors and the corresponding derivatives used in this study include ethyl-p-hydroxybenzoate (homopolymer P2BO and copolymer P2BO#, where # indicates the molar fraction of ethylbenzoate-p-oxymethyl in the side chain (# = 20, 40, 60, and 80)), n-butyl-p-hydroxybenzoate (P4BO), n-hexyl-p-hydroxybenzoate (P6BO), and n-octyl-p-hydroxybenzoate (P8BO). A stable and uniform vertical orientation of LC molecules was observed in LC cells fabricated with P2BO#, with 40 mol% or more ethylbenzoate-p-oxymethyl side groups. In addition, the LC molecules were oriented vertically in LC cells fabricated with homopolymers of P2BO, P4BO, P6BO, and P8BO. The water contact angle on the polymer films can be associated with the vertical orientation of the LC molecules in the LC cells fabricated with the polymer films. For example, vertical LC orientation was observed when the water contact angle of the polymer films was greater than ~86°. Good orientation stability was observed at 150 °C and with 20 J/cm2 of UV irradiation for LC cells fabricated with the P2BO film.

We synthesized a series of polystyrene derivatives that were modified with precursors of liquid crystal (LC) molecules, such as 4-ethyloxyphenol (homopolymer PEOP and copolymer PEOP#; # = 20, 40, 60, and 80, where # indicates the molar fraction of 4-ethyloxyphenoxymethyl in the side chain), 4-n-butyloxyphenol (PBOP), 4-n-hexyloxyphenol (PHOP), and 4-n-octyloxyphenol (POOP), via polymer modification reaction to investigate the orientation of LC molecules on polymer films, exhibiting part of the LC molecular structure. LC molecules showed a stable and uniform vertical orientation in LC cells fabricated with polymers that have 4-ethyloxyphenoxymethyl in the range of 40–100 mol%. In addition, similar results were obtained in LC cells fabricated with homopolymers of PEOP, PBOP, PHOP, and POOP. The vertical orientation of LC molecules in LC cells fabricated with polymer films correlated to the surface energy of polymer films. For example, vertical LC orientation was observed when the total surface energies of the polymer films were lower than approximately 43.2 mJ/m2. Good alignment stabilities were observed at 150 °C and 20 J/cm2 of ultraviolet irradiation for LC cells fabricated with PEOP film.

We synthesized a series of renewable and plant-based isoeugenol-substituted polystyrenes (PIEU#, # = 100, 80, 60, 40, and 20, where # is the molar percent content of isoeugenol moiety), using polymer modification reactions to study their liquid crystal (LC) alignment behavior. In general, the LC cells fabricated using polymer film with a higher molar content of isoeugenol side groups showed vertical LC alignment behavior. This alignment behavior was well related to the surface energy value of the polymer layer. For example, vertical alignments were observed when the polar surface energy value of the polymer was smaller than approximately 3.59 mJ/m2, generated by the nonpolar isoeugenol moiety with long and bulky carbon groups. Good alignment stability at 100 °C and under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation of 15 J/cm2 was observed for the LC cells fabricated using PIEU100 as a LC alignment layer. Therefore, renewable isoeugenol-based materials can be used to produce an eco-friendly vertical LC alignment system.

This study demonstrates liquid crystal (LC) alignment behaviors on the surface of phytochemical-based and renewable chavicol-modified polystyrene (PCHA#, # = 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100, where # represent the molar content of chavicol moiety in the side group) via polymer modification reactions. Generally, a LC cell fabricated with a polymer film containing a high molar content of the chavicol side group exhibited a vertical LC alignment property. There is a correlation between the vertical alignment of LC molecules and the polar surface energy value of the polymer films. Therefore, vertical LC alignment was observed when the polar surface energy values of these polymer films were smaller than about 1.3 mJ/m2, induced by the nonpolar chavicol moiety having long and bulky carbon groups. Aligning stability under harsh conditions such as ultraviolet (UV) irradiation of about 5 J/cm2 was observed in the LC cells fabricated from PCHA100 film. Therefore, it was found that the plant-based chavicol-substituted polymer system can produce an eco-friendly and sustainable LC alignment layer for next-generation applications.