Phase equilibria of polymer dispersed liquid crystal systems in the presence of an external electrical field

Abstract

The effect of an external electrical field on phase behaviors is reported for polymer dispersed liquid crystal films of 4′‐pentyl‐4‐biphenylcarbonitrile/poly(methyl methacrylate) binary mixtures with various polymer molecular weights. The experimental results show that increasing the molecular weight of the polymer or the electrical field intensity can give rise to an increase in the phase‐transition temperature and a widening of the binary phase region. The lattice theory, regarding a binary system consisting of a rigid nematic liquid crystal and a random polymer, has been extended to the case in which an external electrical field is present. A comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experimental results has been carried out, and satisfactory agreement has been found. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 1898–1906, 2007

Effects of the structures of polymerizable monomers on the electro‐optical properties of UV cured polymer dispersed liquid crystal films

“…Polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films consist of a liquid crystal (LC) material dispersed within a semicontinuous polymer matrix, which are potentially useful for a variety of electro‐optical applications including switchable windows, flexible large‐area displays, and other devices 1–5. They show transparent and light scattering states in the electric field‐on and field‐off states, respectively.…”