Synthesis and Characterization of Ionic Chiral Liquid Crystal Monomers and Assessment of their Contribution to Enhanced Performance of Polymer Stabilized Cholesterol Liquid Crystals
Abstract
The development of chirophotonic crystals with cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) has been of great interest. Due to their helical superstructures, CLC molecules can show the selective reflection of light depending on the helical pitch. In addition, CLC polymers have been widely discussed to develop the flexible optical films and fibers because they possess not only the orientational properties of anisotropic molecules but also the elastic behaviors of polymeric networks. However, to apply CLC materials in dynamic polarizers, switchable mirrors, and data storages, larger and reconfigurable reflection bandwidths have been established. In this project, we newly design and synthesize novel ionic monomers (IM) and chiral monomers (CM) to demonstrate the polymer-stabilized CLC film showing the enhanced optical performance. By introducing IM and CM into the host achiral LC media, the helical superstructures are automatically constructed via the self-assembly processes. After the subsequent in situ photopolymerization, electrically-induced bandwidth broadening can be readily observable when a DC electric field is applied. The trapped ions impart a force onto the polymer network in the presence of a DC field. The resulting electromechanical force is large enough to tune the helical pitch of polymer-stabilized network in heterogeneous manners. The goal of this work proposed here is to explore the fundamental relationships between ionic charge trappings and selective reflection broadenings.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 09, 2018
- Source ID
- FA23861714078
Entities
People
- Kwang-Un Jeong
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Jeonbuk National University
- United States Air Force