Thermal behaviour and structure of gelatin layers with embedded liquid crystals

Abstract Our investigations show that low molecular weight thermotropic liquid crystals (LCs) can be embedded as a separate phase in a gelatin matrix. The transition from the nematic mesophase into the isotropic phase for the encapsulated LC is determined by measuring the voltaic potential difference Δ V as a function of the temperature. The interactions between LC and gelatin have been investigated for both cold- and hot-dried gelatin layers and a satisfactory structure scheme is given. Furthermore, we also characterize the thermal behaviour of pure gelatin layers using the Δ V method.