A Single‐Step Dual Stabilization of Smart Window by the Formation of Liquid Crystal Physical Gels and the Construction of Liquid Crystal Chambers

Abstract

Smart windows are very attractive because they not only provide comfortable indoor conditions for cars and buildings, but also protect privacy. However, current smart windows have problems such as high energy consumption, slow response time, and poor stability. To solve these problems, a single‐step dual stabilization (SSDS) is newly proposed for the fabrication of robust liquid crystal (LC) smart windows switching fast at low voltage. Upon irradiating ultraviolet light on the selected area of the nematic (N) LC optical cell with photoisomerizable macrogelators (B3AZ) and photopolymerizable monomers, NLC physical gels (LCPGs) and partition walls are simultaneously constructed. LCPGs play a role of light shutter under a low electric field (9.6 Vpp) which is ten times lower than that of the conventional polymer‐stabilized LC‐based smart windows. Partition walls constructed by the selected area photopolymerization significantly enhance the mechanical stabilities. Based on the experimental results, it is realized that the NLC layer generated near the partition walls makes the LCPGs respond to a low voltage. Robust SSDS smart windows could open new doors for the development of high‐performance smart windows.

Smart Window Based on Angular-Selective Absorption of Solar Radiation with Guest–Host Liquid Crystals

“…As discussed, it is necessary to absorb (or transmit) the sunlight incident at a higher (or lower) elevation angle in summer (or winter) to save energy. GHLC devices, comprising a host LC and guest dichroic dye, have attracted considerable attention owing to their high transmittance in a transparent state and polarizer-free structure [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. Due to their dichroism, dye molecules strongly (or weakly) absorb the light that is polarized parallel (or perpendicular) to their absorption axis (Figure 2a).…”

High-Efficiency Responsive Smart Windows Fabricated by Carbon Nanotubes Modified by Liquid Crystalline Polymers

“…Generally, active and passive modes are the main options for the modulation of smart windows. The typical active smart windows using liquid crystal (LC) [11][12][13][14][15][16] and electrochromic materials [17][18][19][20][21] are realized by applying electricity to modulate the color or transparency of the window. The passive-mode smart windows with energy-saving efficiency function by external environmental stimuli, such as temperature and light, etc.…”

High-Performance Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal Enabled by Uniquely Designed Acrylate Monomer

“…Tremendous efforts were progressed previously on optimization of PDLC materials and structure of devices to fabricate low voltage PDLCs with enhanced electro-optical properties and were sufficiently impressive [20,21,[36][37][38][39][40][41]. Despite promising results, attempts at constructing low-voltage driven PDLCs have involved either cumbersome fabrication procedures or compromised on other salient features of PDLCs [36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48]. There is therefore high interest in developing an efficient method to reduce the driving voltage of PDLCs without sacrificing other desirable features.…”