Tailoring structure and properties of polymer-dispersed liquid crystal by quenching process

To improve the electro-optical properties of polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) film, the size and number of liquid crystal droplets were regulated by changing component, curing method, curing temperature and time, and so on, but the regulation reported in the literatures was constrained within the curing process. In this work, the size of liquid crystal droplets is regulated by quenching around the glass transition temperature (<i>T</i>_g) at which the mobility of polymer chains changes dramatically. At the same time, the degree of supersaturation of liquid crystal molecules changes due to the decrease of temperature, thereby regulating the number of nucleation of liquid crystal droplets. Through the study of the above process, the effects of the size and number of liquid crystal droplets and the content of liquid crystal dissolved in the polymer network on the electro-optical properties of PDLC film are discussed. The research provides a new method to regulate the structure and properties of PDLC film aiming at the cured PDLC film, effectively overcoming the disadvantage of the regulation aiming at the curing process.