Preparation of a Multifunctional Polymer-Stabilized Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Broadband Reflective Film Doped With ZIF-8

Cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) materials with broadband reflective properties have garnered much attention because of their light-selective reflective properties. In this study, broadband reflective films were prepared by doping a novel UV absorber, ZIF-8, into a CLC system to take advantage of the formation of a UV intensity gradient. The effects of ZIF-8 content, C6M content, UV intensity, UV irradiation time, and diffusion temperature on the reflection bandwidth of the samples were systematically investigated. The reflection bandwidth was expanded from 277 to 429 nm under optimum conditions. In addition, the ZIF-8-doped broadband reflective films not only have IR thermal control and UV shielding capabilities but also have the optical property of third-order nonlinear saturable absorption, which makes the preparation of multifunctional broadband reflective films possible. The above results show that the developed thin films have a broad application prospect in building energy saving, UV protection, and laser protection.