In situ observation of fringing-field-induced phase separation in a liquid-crystal-monomer mixture.
Fringing-field-induced phase separation dynamics in liquid-crystal-(LC-)monomer mixtures is investigated via a microscope. At a low LC concentration, the fringing field converts the randomly dispersed LC droplets to an ordered droplet array, while at a high LC concentration the fringing field converts the amorphous LC-monomer system to a composite film. Because the LC and monomer are immiscible, the converted morphologies are stable even after the voltage is removed. Using the fringing field-induced phase separation, it is possible to prepare different polymer-dispersed LC morphologies.
College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA.
Hongwen
H
Ren
Shin-Tson
ST
Wu
Yi-Hsin
YH
Lin