Polymer Stabilized Liquid Crystal System Containing A Preformed Polymer Guest
T.V. Galstian, L. Zohrabyan, A.-M. Albu, E. Rusen, B. Marculescu and D.S. Vasilescu
The present work describes the synthesis and characterization of Polymer Stabilized Liquid Crystal (PSLC) composites that have been obtained by using a Preformed Polymer Guest. In the first part, we have reported the synthesis as well as characterization of the guest, namely a maleic anhydride-dicyclopentadiene copolymer (MA-DCPD), which behaves as a non-mesogenic polymer. Characterization of PSLC assembly refers to the evaluation of electro-optical features, but also to the influence of polymeric network on these properties. This influence has been studied, by using such experimental techniques as polarizing electron microscopy, or DSC. At the same time, the investigation of the polymerization process evolution by using IR dichroism experiments offers information regarding the induced ordering in the polymer domain. The possibility for obtaining a rich variety of morphologies, using non-mesogenic monomers, (each showing a unique electro-optical response) has been demonstrated.