Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, Vol.509, 1098-1104, 2009
The Influence of Alkyl Spacer on Helical Structure of Polymer-Stabilized Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals
Polymer stabilization is a technique for stabilizing a liquid crystal molecular orientation. The effect of polymer stabilization on the helical structure of FLCs can be analyzed by the observation of the conoscopic figures of polymer-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals (PSFLCs) obtained from the computer simulation and the experiment. In this study, we investigate the conoscopic figures of PSFLCs fabricated using a new acrylate polymer having an alkyl spacer part between main- and mesogenic side-chain. The strength of polymer stabilization originated in the side-chain becomes lower due to the alkyl spacer. Although the polymer stabilization usually increases the threshold electric field, the increase may be controlled by utilizing a suitable spacer.
Keywords:alkyl spacer;conoscope;ferroelectric liquid crystal;helical structure;polymer stabilization