Self-assembled liquid crystalline nanotemplates and their incorporation in dye-sensitised solar cells

Kamarudin, Muhammad Akmal; Khan, Ammar Ahmed; Williams, Calum; Rughoobur, Girish; Said, Suhana Mohd; Nosheen, Shabeena; Flewitt, Andrew J.; Qasim, Malik M.; Wilkinson, Timothy D.

doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2016.11.021

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…We also note that the FTIR data of the reactive and nonreactive mesogen, their mixtures, and the polymer before and after extraction were collected and their signatures were consistent with similar characterizations reported in the literature (detailed in Figure S2). 54 After the extraction of the unreacted mesogens and drying of the solvent, we observed an anisotropic shrinkage of the films. Figure 2 shows the micrographs of the 40 μm thick films synthesized from 20 wt % RM257 in 5CB before and after the extraction of the unreacted mesogens.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Liquid Crystal-Templated Synthesis of Mesoporous Membranes with Predetermined Pore Alignment

Karausta

Büküşoğlu

2018

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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We demonstrate that polymeric films templated from liquid crystals (LCs) provide basic design principles for the synthesis of mesoporous films with predetermined pore alignment. Specifically, we used LC mixtures of reactive [4-(3-acryloyoxypropyloxy) benzoic acid 2-methyl-1,4-phenylene ester (RM257)] and nonreactive [4-cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl (5CB)] mesogens confined in film geometries. The LC alignment was maintained by functionalization of the surfaces contacting the films during polymerization. Through photopolymerization followed by extraction of the unreacted mesogens, films of area in the order of 10 cm were obtained. We found that, when restricted to an area either through a mechanical or a configurational constraint, open and accessible pores were incorporated into the films. The average direction of the pores could be determined by the LC director during polymerization, and the average diameter of the pores can be tuned in the range of 10-40 nm by varying the reactive monomer concentration. The polymeric films synthesized here can potentially be used for the ultrafiltration purposes. We demonstrated successful separations of proteins and nanoparticles from aqueous media using the polymeric films. The films exhibited 2 orders of magnitude higher flux when the pores were aligned parallel to the permeate direction compared to the perpendicular direction. Overall, the outcomes of this study provide basic tools for the synthesis of porous polymeric films with predetermined pore directions that can potentially be suitable for separations, drug delivery, catalysts, and so forth.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Liquid Crystal-Templated Synthesis of Mesoporous Membranes with Predetermined Pore Alignment

Karausta

Büküşoğlu

2018

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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“…As implied in Figure a, both peaks at 1732 cm −1 (C = O stretching, solely on RM257) and 2227 cm −1 (C ≡ N stretching, solely on 5CB) were present before 5CB extraction, whereas the latter peak disappeared after the 5CB extraction, indicating the complete removal of 5CB. [ 61 ] Additionally, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was employed to characterize the surface morphologies of PSLCs encoded with complex patterns, such as the “cat family”, whose directors (

{\vec{\mathrm{n}}}

) were aligned along different angles (0°, 22.5°, 45°) at designated regions (Figure S2f, Supporting Information and Figure 3b). SEM images of corresponding surface regions on the PSLC (Figure 3b) evidently reveal the pores approximately along 0°, 22.5°, and 45°, respectively.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robust Optical Data Encryption by Projection‐Photoaligned Polymer‐Stabilized‐Liquid‐Crystals

Liu,

Alfarhan,

Wang

et al. 2023

Advanced Optical Materials

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The emerging Internet of Things (IoTs) invokes increasing security demands that require robust encryption or anti‐counterfeiting technologies. Albeit being acknowledged as efficacious solutions in processing elaborate graphical information via multiple degrees of freedom, optical data encryption and anti‐counterfeiting techniques are typically inept in delivering satisfactory performance without compromising the desired ease‐of‐processibility or compatibility, thus leading to the exploration of novel materials and devices that are competent. Here, a robust optical data encryption technique is demonstrated utilizing polymer‐stabilized‐liquid‐crystals (PSLCs) combined with projection photoalignment and photopatterning methods. The PSLCs possess implicit optical patterns encoded via photoalignment, as well as explicit geometries produced via photopatterning. Furthermore, the PSLCs demonstrate improved robustness against harsh chemical environments and thermal stability and can be directly deployed onto various rigid and flexible substrates. Based on this, it is demonstrated that a single PSLC is apt to carry intricate information or serve as an exclusive watermark with both implicit features and explicit geometries. Moreover, a novel, generalized design strategy is developed, for the first time, to encode intricate and exclusive information with enhanced security by spatially programming the photoalignment patterns of a pair of cascade PSLCs, which further illustrates the promising capabilities of PSLCs in optical data encryption and anti‐counterfeiting.

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“…It was hypothesised that the light-scattering effect of the polymerised reactive mesogen also contributed to the improved performance of the photovoltaic devices. Kamarudin et al [93] made a template of the SmA phase in its polygonal alignment and incorporated the template into dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs). The DSSCs with the templates showed improved performance, for example, the open-circuit voltage was 0.705 V compared to 0.694 and the short circuit current was 13.25 mA cm −2 compared to 10.46 mA cm −2 to that of the liquid electrolyte.…”

Section: Smectic a Phase And Nanoporous Membranesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Liquid Crystals Templating

Nagaraj

2020

Crystals

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Liquid crystal templating is a versatile technique to create novel organic and inorganic materials with nanoscale features. It exploits the self-assembled architectures of liquid crystal phases as scaffolds. This article focuses on some of the key developments in lyotropic and thermotropic liquid crystals templating. The procedures that were employed to create templated structures and the applications of these novel materials in various fields including mesoporous membranes, organic electronics, the synthesis of nanostructured materials and photonics, are described.

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Self-assembled liquid crystalline nanotemplates and their incorporation in dye-sensitised solar cells

Cited by 9 publications

References 36 publications

Liquid Crystal-Templated Synthesis of Mesoporous Membranes with Predetermined Pore Alignment

Liquid Crystal-Templated Synthesis of Mesoporous Membranes with Predetermined Pore Alignment

Robust Optical Data Encryption by Projection‐Photoaligned Polymer‐Stabilized‐Liquid‐Crystals

Liquid Crystals Templating

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