Modulation of electro-optical properties of polymer-dispersed liquid crystals by multi-walled carbon nanotube/polymer nanocomposite fibres

In this article, polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films were prepared from a mixture of prepolymer, liquid crystal and reticular nanofibre films containing multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) by the polymerisation-induced phase separation (PIPS) method. By comparing the microstructure and electro-optical profiles of different contents of liquid crystals as well as monomer types, it was demonstrated that the pore size pairs of the polymer network can modify the electro-optical properties of PDLC. Different types of loaded multi-walled carbon nanotube reticular nanofibre films were introduced into the liquid crystal mixture specimens and the altered polymer network and electro-optical properties of these specimens were analysed using SEM, POM, TEM, and electro-optical curves. It was found that the electro-optical properties of PDLC were greatly improved and the resistance to ageing was also greatly enhanced by mesh nanofibre films doped with a certain amount of multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Therefore, the development of PDLC doped with loaded MWCNT reticular nanofibre films with faster response times and better electro-optical properties will greatly improve the promising technological applications of PDLC-based devices for optical windows, displays, energy storage and flexible devices.