Effects of monomer structure on the morphology of polymer network and the electro-optical property of reverse-mode polymer-stabilized cholesteric texture

The morphologies of the polymer networks in the polymer network/LC composite of reverse-mode polymer-stabilized cholesteric texture (PSCT) films was observed. The polymer network/LC composite was prepared from photopolymerization of the acrylate monomers, which had rod-like rigid cores in monomer/LC mixture. The effects of the structure of the acrylate monomers on the morphology of polymer network were studied. The acrylate monomer without flexible pacers between the acrylate functional groups and the rigid core formed rice-grain-like polymer network with poor orientation. The acrylate monomer with flexible pacers formed fiber-like polymer network with better orientation. Meanwhile, the effects of morphology of polymer network on the electro-optical property of reverse-mode PSCT films were also investigated. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009