Poly(N-vinylcarbazole) Film-Based Liquid Crystal Films

The electro-optical properties of poly(n-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) film-based liquid crystal (LC) films are reported. Firstly, the alignment direction of a rubbed PVK film is found to successfully switch toward the rubbing direction through thermal treatment. Second, a method of particular thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) of LCs and polymers is presented. The method involves a combination of dissolution process and TIPS. Additionally, a scattering-mode light shutter having the advantages of low driving voltage, polarization-independent scattering, fast response, high contrast ratio is reported. Finally, the scattering-mode light shutter with different transmission is achieved by illuminating the cell under various light intensities.