Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals Science and Technology. Section A. Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, Vol.366, 2723-2730, 2001
Polymerization-induced phase separation of polymer-dispersed liquid crystal
Polymerization-induced phase separation in polymer-dispersed liquid crystal is studied by computer simulations in two dimensions. The domain morphology resulting from phase separation is investigated by solving the couple set of equations for the local volume fraction and the nematic order parameter, taking into account the viscoelastic effects and gelation due to polymerization. Comparing the morphology of phase separation by temperature quench, it is shown that the viscoelastic effects and gelation enable the polymer-rich phase to form a stable interconnected domain even when the polymer component is minority.
Keywords:polymer-dispersed liquid crystal;polymerizaiton;phase separation;viscoelastic effect;gelation