Effects of a chemically modified multiwall carbon nanotubes on electro-optical properties of PDLC films

Polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films are fabricated by well-known polymerization-induced phase separation method. In this paper, the dispersion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) in liquid crystals has been enhanced by chemical modification and we have investigated their effects on the morphology, electro-optical properties and conductivity of the PDLC films. Results indicated that the threshold voltage and the saturation voltage of PDLC films decreased with the increase of the doping concentration of MWCNT or chemically modified MWCNT, because carbon nanotubes can enhance the electric field by reducing the resistivity of the medium and increasing the capacitance of the cells. It can be viewed obviously that the contrast ratio of the PDLC films doped with the chemically modified MWCNT is higher than that of the MWCNT.