Electrically switchable polymer-dispersed liquid crystal materials

1. A method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals, comprising:

disposing between at least two optically transparent electrode plates, a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal material that comprises, before exposure:

(a) a polymerizable monomer comprising at least one acrylate;

(b) a liquid crystal;

(c) a chain-extending monomer;

(d) a coinitiator;

(e) a photoinitiator; and

(f) a long chain aliphatic acid; and

exposing this polymer-dispersed liquid crystal material to light in an interference pattern.

2. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 1 , wherein the polymerizable monomer comprises a mixture of di-, tri-, tetra-, and pentaacrylates.

3. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 1 , wherein the polymerizable monomer comprises a mixture of urethane acrylates with functionalities 3, 4, 5, and 6.

4. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 2 , wherein the polymerizable monomer is at least one acrylate selected from the group consisting of triethyleneglycol diacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, pentaerythritol triacrylate, pentaerythritol tetracrylate, and dipentaerythritol pentaacrylate.

5. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 2 , wherein the polymerizable monomer is at least one acrylate selected from the group consisting of urethane acrylates with functionalities 3, 4, 5, and 6.

6. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 2 , wherein the polymerizable monomer comprises a mixture of tri- and pentaacrylates.

7. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 6 , wherein the polymerizable monomer comprises a dipentaerythritol pentaacrylate.

8. A method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals, comprising:

disposing between at least two optically transparent electrode plates, a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal material that comprises, before exposure:

(a) a polymerizable monomer comprising multifunctional aliphatic and aromatic thiols;

(b) an allyl ether or multifunctional acrylate;

(c) a liquid crystal; and

(d) a photoinitiator; and

exposing this mixture to light in an interference pattern.

9. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one liquid crystal is selected from the group consisting of a mixture of cyanobiphenyls, 4′-n-pentyl-4-cyanobiphenyl, 4′-n-heptyl-4-cyanobiphenyl, 4′-octaoxy-4-cyanobiphenyl, 4′-pentyl-4-cyanoterphenyl, and α-methoxybenzylidene-4′-butylaniline, or the class of fluoro and chloro substituted biphenyls and triphenyls.

10. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 9 , wherein the at least one liquid crystal comprises at least one mixture selected from the group of cyananobiphenyls, fluoro substituted biphenyls, fluoro substituted triphenyls, chloro biphenyls, and chloro triphenyls.

11. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 1 , wherein the chain-extending monomer is at least one member selected from the group consisting of N-vinyl pyrrolidone; N-vinyl pyridine, acrylonitrile, and N-vinyl carbazole.

12. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 11 , wherein the chain-extending monomer is N-vinyl pyrrolidone.

13. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 1 , wherein the coinitiator is at least one member selected from the group consisting of N-phenylglycine, triethylene amine, triethanolamine, N,N-dimethyl-2,6-diisopropyl aniline, halogenated N-phenylglycine, 3,3′,4,4′-tetrakis (t-butyl peroxy carbonyl)-benzophenone, trimethylfuran, and triaayl alkyl borate salt.

14. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 13 , wherein the coinitiator is N-phenylglycine.

15. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 1 , wherein the photoinitiator is at least one member selected from the group consisting of rose bengal ester, rose bengal sodium salt, eosin, eosin sodium salt, 4,5-diiodosuccinyl fluorescein, camphorquinone, methylene blue, cationic cyanine dyes with trialkylborate anions, merocyanine dyes derived from spiropyran, benzophenone, 2,2-dimethyl-2 hydroxyacetophenone, diphenyl (2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)-phosphine oxide, 2-benzyl-2-dimethylamino-1-(4-monopholinophenyl)-butan-1-one, bis(pentafluorophenyl)titanocene, metallo-benzoporphyrins, 3-substituted keto coumarin dye, thioxanthene dye, and diphenyl iodonium salts.

16. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 15 , wherein the photoinitiator is rose bengal sodium salt.

17. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 1 , wherein the polymer-dispersed liquid crystal material, before exposure, further comprises a surfactant.

18. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 17 , wherein the surfactant is selected from the group consisting of octanoic acid, decanoic acid and dodecanoic acid.

19. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 1 , wherein the interference pattern is obtained from at least four beams of coherent light.

20. The method for preparing electro-optical polymer-liquid crystal photonic crystals according to claim 1 , wherein the polymerizable monomer comprises dipentaerythritol pentaacrylate, the at least one liquid crystal comprises a mixture of cyanobiphenyls, the chain-extending monomer is N-vinyl pyrrolidone, the coinitiator is N-phenylglycine, and the photoinitiator is rose bengal sodium salt.