Regulation of the properties of polymer-dispersed liquid crystals via the introduction of silicon-based materials

In this work, electro-optical properties of polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) were enhanced by introducing two silicon nanomaterials into the system. Scanning electron microscopy measurements demonstrated the successful implantation of SiO2 and SiO2-SH nanostructures into the polymer matrix, and the size of a polymer mesh was enlarged with the increasing content of the two silicon nanomaterials. The electro-optical tests indicated that the electro-optical performance of PDLC composites was greatly enhanced by doping proper amounts of SiO2-SH and SiO2 nanoparticles. The driving voltage can be reduced by nearly 73.6% when the SiO2-SH concentration is 8 wt.%, which is much lower than that of SiO2. The lower driving voltage of SiO2-SH-embedded PDLCs was ascribed to the existence of -SH on the surface of the nanoparticles, which can conduct click reactions with acrylate group under the effect of initiator.