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Spontaneous radial liquid crystals alignment on curved polymeric surfaces
- Source :
- Applied Physics Letters. 104:221112
- Publication Year :
- 2014
- Publisher :
- AIP Publishing, 2014.
-
Abstract
- We report on the fabrication and characterization of curved periodic microstructures formed through the controlled phase separation of a liquid crystal and a polymerizing matrix comprising self-aligned liquid crystal. Imaging through a “Fresnel like” structure imparts an intensity profile onto a photosensitive mixture which subsequently forms periodic alternating curved polymeric and liquid crystal slices. The phase separated concentric rings of nematic liquid crystal self-align in a radial alignment in between the polymer walls as indicated by polarizing optical microscopy analysis (Maltese cross). Electro-optical experiments confirm the possibility to control this alignment and the optical properties of the macroscopic structure by means of a quite low external voltage. The system exhibits high-quality and self-alignment of an ordered (liquid crystal) fluid without the need of surface chemistry or functionalization.
- Subjects :
- chemistry.chemical_classification
Fabrication
Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)
business.industry
Homeotropic alignment
Physics::Optics
Polymer
law.invention
Characterization (materials science)
Optics
Optical microscope
chemistry
Liquid crystal
law
Phase (matter)
Surface modification
Composite material
business
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 10773118 and 00036951
- Volume :
- 104
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Applied Physics Letters
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....0cdfb9963284edb3e9e5a7ff16f9c447
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4881976