TY - JOUR
T1 - Decreasing the operating voltage of a polymer-stabilized blue phase based on intermolecular affinity
AU - Yoshizawa, Daisuke
AU - Okumura, Yasushi
AU - Yamamoto, Jun
AU - Kikuchi, Hirotsugu
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, The Society of Polymer Science, Japan.
PY - 2019/7/1
Y1 - 2019/7/1
N2 - Abstract: This study demonstrates a novel material design strategy to decrease the operating voltage of the polymer-stabilized blue phase (PSBP) based on intermolecular affinity between the chiral dopant and the polymer nanonetworks in the PSBP. We focus on the weak anchoring interface, the so-called “slippery interface”, at which a disordered liquid crystal or isotropic liquid layer is formed between the liquid crystal and polymer. To introduce such a slippery interface inside the PSBP, an isosorbide-based polar chiral dopant is synthesized, and this dopant is expected to show high affinity to polymers with polar substituents. The operating voltage of the PSBP with the polar chiral dopant is considerably decreased with an increasing ratio of polar substituents on the polymer, in striking contrast with the trend observed for the PSBP containing the conventional chiral dopant. Furthermore, the PSBP displays a large electro-optical Kerr constant for the PSBP containing the polar chiral dopant and polymer with the polar substituent. The experimental results suggest that the synthesized chiral dopant with a polar component acts as a chirality inducer for the BP and as a slippery interface inducer via polar-polar interaction with the polymer inside the PSBP.
AB - Abstract: This study demonstrates a novel material design strategy to decrease the operating voltage of the polymer-stabilized blue phase (PSBP) based on intermolecular affinity between the chiral dopant and the polymer nanonetworks in the PSBP. We focus on the weak anchoring interface, the so-called “slippery interface”, at which a disordered liquid crystal or isotropic liquid layer is formed between the liquid crystal and polymer. To introduce such a slippery interface inside the PSBP, an isosorbide-based polar chiral dopant is synthesized, and this dopant is expected to show high affinity to polymers with polar substituents. The operating voltage of the PSBP with the polar chiral dopant is considerably decreased with an increasing ratio of polar substituents on the polymer, in striking contrast with the trend observed for the PSBP containing the conventional chiral dopant. Furthermore, the PSBP displays a large electro-optical Kerr constant for the PSBP containing the polar chiral dopant and polymer with the polar substituent. The experimental results suggest that the synthesized chiral dopant with a polar component acts as a chirality inducer for the BP and as a slippery interface inducer via polar-polar interaction with the polymer inside the PSBP.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85063041075&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85063041075&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41428-019-0183-6
DO - 10.1038/s41428-019-0183-6
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85063041075
SN - 0032-3896
VL - 51
SP - 667
EP - 673
JO - Polymer Journal
JF - Polymer Journal
IS - 7
ER -