화학공학소재연구정보센터
Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry, Vol.41, No.1, 204-212, 2003
Polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal materials fabricated with frontal polymerization
We report on the morphological and thermal properties of polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) fabricated with frontal-polymerization-induced phase separation (FPIPS). Frontal polymerization is characterized by a rapid-conversion, high-temperature, and large-thermal-gradient environment. A comparison is made between the morphological and thermal properties of PDLCs fabricated with FPIPS and traditional thermal-polymerization-induced phase separation. Characterization includes differential scanning calorimetry to probe the glass and nematic-to-isotropic transitions and scanning electron microscopy to evaluate the phase-separated morphology. In addition, the frontal temperatures and velocities are reported for PDLCs fabricated with frontal polymerization.