Optically responsive liquid crystal microfibers for display and nondisplay applications

Ebru A. Buyuktanir; John L. West; Margaret W. Frey

doi:10.1117/12.880076

2 February 2011 Optically responsive liquid crystal microfibers for display and nondisplay applications

Ebru A. Buyuktanir, John L. West, Margaret W. Frey

Proceedings Volume 7955, Emerging Liquid Crystal Technologies VI; 79550P (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.880076
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2011, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

We demonstrate the fabrication and characterization of optically-tunable and stimuli-responsive electrospun microfibers endowed with liquid crystal (LC) functionality. The highly flexible LC microfibers are electrospun from a solution of 4- pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) and polylactic acid (PLA) in chloroform/acetone solvent. In the electrospinning process, the low molecular weight 5CB phase-separates and self-assembles to form a planarly aligned nematic core within a PLA shell. Most importantly, the orientation of LC domains and, therefore, the optical properties of the 5CB/PLA fibers can be tuned by application of an external electric field. These properties of LC fibers may, in turn, be utilized to fabricate a variety of photonic textiles, and ultimately may introduce an entirely new manufacturing process where weaving will reach well beyond the roll-to-roll manufacturing envisioned for the currently emerging flexible displays printed on flexible plastic substrates.

Citation Download Citation

Ebru A. Buyuktanir, John L. West, and Margaret W. Frey "Optically responsive liquid crystal microfibers for display and nondisplay applications", Proc. SPIE 7955, Emerging Liquid Crystal Technologies VI, 79550P (2 February 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.880076

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