Abstract
We report the organization of polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) into ordered concentric rings over large areas by drying a drop of bound PDLC toluene solution (i.e., confined between a spherical lens and an indium tin oxide (ITO-coated glass substrate; sphere-on-ITO geometry). The formation of regular ring-like deposits was a direct consequence of controlled"stick-slip"cycles of three-phase contact line during the course of solvent evaporation, which was effectively regulated through the use of the sphere-on-ITO geometry. This simple approach based on controlled evaporative organization may provide a new means of processing polymer/LC mixture to produce ordered surface patterns in one step, where microscopic LCs are dispersed within the polymer matrix.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1249-1253 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Wuli Huaxue Xuebao/ Acta Physico - Chimica Sinica |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| State | Published - 2009 |
Keywords
- "Stick-slip" motion
- Controlled evaporative organization
- Liquid bridge
- Polymer-dispersed liquid crystal