Thermophysical Properties in Phenyletheracrylate / Liquid Crystal Mixtures: Effects of Photoinitiator Concentration

Abstract The influence of the amount of photoinitiator (Darocur 1173) on the phase behavior of Phenyletheracrylate/Liquid Crystal (E7) mixtures prepared by a PIPS-UV process are investigated. The phase diagrams of polymer/LC systems prepared with various photoinitiator contents are established by polarized optical microscopy. The miscibility between the polymer and the liquid crystal increases when the photoinitiator content increases. The polymer glass transition temperatures are strongly affected by the presence of LC. These phenomena can be explained by a lower extent of the degree of polymerization when the photoinitiator concentration increases.