Dual-mode chromatic electrophoretic display: A prospective technology based on fluorescent electrophoretic particles

In this study, we demonstrate a novel dual-mode chromatic electrophoretic display (EPD) based on fluorescent electrophoretic particles. By ball milling to reduce the size of BaMgAl10O17:Eu2+,Mn2+ (BAM) phosphor and modifying the surface of BAM with 3-(methacryloyloxy)propyltrimethoxysilane (MPS) and polylauryl methacrylate (PLMA), the BAM-MPS-PLMA fluorescent electrophoretic particles which appear white under natural light and show bright blue emission upon UV excitation were synthetized. The BAM-MPS-PLMA particles exhibit much better suspension stability and sufficient zeta potential in non-polar Isopar G solvent. The dual-mode chromatic EPD prototype has been fabricated with electrodes and microcapsules containing both BAM-MPS-PLMA particles and black particles, which can display black-and-white images in the unexcited mode and show blue emission in the excited mode, respectively. The device with excellent display performance, including bistability (decay less than 8% in an hour), reversibility (greater than500 cycles) and fast response time (176.6 ms), has been successfully applied as an electronic shelf label to demonstrate one of its practical applications.