Reverse Mode Polymer-Stabilized Liquid Crystal Films via Thiol and Acrylic Azobenzene

Reverse mode polymer-stabilized liquid crystal (RPSLC) have shown significant promise in energy-saving smart windows. However, to make them practical for widespread use, it is crucial to reduce the operating voltage and enhance the contrast ratio. Here, we introduce an approach to achieving these goals by using acrylic azobenzene, which serves as both a polymerizable monomer and dopant in RPSLC films fabricated using photopolymerization. The results showed that the polymer morphologies could be manipulated by varying the contents of liquid crystal and azobenzene, leading to significant improvements in the electro-optical (EO) properties of the RPSLC films. Particularly, great improvements in EO properties were realized by doping a 0.3 wt % azobenzene monomer, the threshold voltage was lowered from 18.2 to 11.5 V, and the contrast ratio was raised from 115.6 to 185.9. This work provides mechanistic insight to regulate the microstructure and optimize the EO properties of RPSLC films.