Sodium ion transfer across micro water/1,2-DCE interface facilitated by liquid crystal crown ether

The sodium ion transfer across the micro-water/1,2-dichloroethane interface facilitated by a novel ionophore, liquid crystal crown ether was studied systematically. The sodium ion transfer facilitated by LCCE is controlled by diffusion studied by cyclic voltammetry. The diffusion coefficient of LCCE in 1,2-dichloroethane was calculated to be equal to (2.61 +/- 0.12) X 10(-6) cm(2)/s and the stability constant of the complex between Na+ and LCCE was determined as lg beta (o) = 5.7 in 1,2-dichloroethane.

Corona poling of liquid crystalline polymers with nitroazobenzene side chains

The orientational behavior of liquid crystalline polymers with para-nitro azobenzene as side chains under electric field was studied by UV-visible spectroscopy. The results showed that lambda(max) of the poled polymer films was around 394nm, compared to that of the unpoled films, the absorption decreased due to poling. The orientational parameters increased linearly with the increase of the electric field. The temporal stability of the poled polymer film is good at room temperature. This kind of materials showed promise application as nonlinear optical component in photorefractive polymers.

Phase transition temperatures of side chain liquid crystal polymer from molecular dynamics simulation

In this paper, phase transition temperatures of side chain liquid crystal polymer were predicted by molecular dynamics simulation. We analyzed the change of energy and the degree of similarity(S) with the temperature varying. The simulated phase transition temperatures agree with the experimental values in a proper deviation.

Optical properties of organo-soluble polyimide thin films and their applications in liquid crystal displays

Three organo-soluble polyimide powders have been synthesized. Their imidization was verified by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. The amorphous morphology of their thin films were confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Polyimide thin films were prepared by solution casting or spin coating. UV-visible transmission spectra of thin films revealed that they are almost transparent in the range of visible light. With in-plane orientation, revealed by FTIR spectra, negative birefringence (Delta n) of thin films were observed, and refractive indices of the thin films along the film plane (n(TE)) and normal to the plane (n(TM)) were measured by a prism coupler. Because of negative birefringence of the thin films, they tan be substituted for the compensation films for twisted nematic liquid crystal displays (TN-LCDs) to extend their viewing angles. In this paper, a 90 degrees C TN-LCD and 120 degrees C TN-LCD were taken as examples to show the compensation effect of thin films of a qualified polyimide. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Color filters with negative birefringence for liquid crystal display use

We have developed a special color film with negative birefringence, which can work as a color filter and a viewing angle extension film for liquid crystal displays (LCDs). A high-performance polyimide (PI), which can be dissolved in the usual organic solvent and shows negative birefringence after lamination, was synthesized to fabricate the film. By mixing PI with suitable proportions of green, blue or red pigment in the solvent, then laminating them onto a glass substrate, we obtained color films with good transmission spectra and suitable chromatic coordinates. The results of our experiments show that the color filters still have negative birefringence but a little lower than that of the pure PI film. and can therefore work as compensation films for normal white twist nematic liquid crystal displays (TN-LCD).

Liquid crystal alignment controlled by LB films

Copper phthalocyanine doped polymethacrylate Langmuir-Blodgett films were transferred to align a nematic liquid crystal 5CB, It is found that the pre-tilt angle of the liquid crystal can be controlled with the variation of the doped copper phthalocyanine molecular ratio and is correlated with the dichroic ratio of the aligning layer. The polarity of the aligning layer is regarded as the most likely underlying factor that causes the different LC alignment configurations. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.

Red color filter in an organo-soluble polyamide matrix for liquid crystal displays

A red color filter was laminated from a solution of red color pigment and an organo-soluble polyamide, based on 1,4-bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenoxy) benzene dianhydride (HQDPA) and 2,2'-dimethyl-4,4'-methylene dianiline (DMMDA). The red color filter in a polyamide matrix with negative birefringence plays an important role in twisted nematic liquid crystal displays (TN-LCDs). The red color filter, and also compensation films, extend the viewing angle of LCDs. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.

Bilayer formation of two chiral ferroelectric liquid crystal molecules at the air-water interface

The bilayer formation behavior of two chiral ferroelectric liquid crystal molecules at the air-water interface was studied.

Compensation effect of polyimide thin films on normally white twisted nematic liquid crystal displays

The disadvantages of Normally White Twisted Nematic Liquid Crystal Display (NW-TN-LCD) were discussed. The reason that the negative birefringent polyimide thin films were used to compensate NW-TN-LCD to decrease off-axis leakage, improve contrast ratios and enlarge viewing angles was explained in this paper. A certain polyimide thin film was taken as an example to show compensation effect on NW-TN-LCD.

SYNTHESIS OF A NEW CHIRAL LIQUID-CRYSTAL WITH SCHIFF-BASE GROUP AND INVESTIGATION OF TEMPERATURE-DEPENDING FTIR SPECTRA

A new chiral liquid crystal with Schiff base group has been prepared, The structure of liquid crystal was confirmed by elementary analyses and H-1 NMR. Its phase transition was investigated by polarized optical microscope, DSC and temperature-depending FTIR spectra. The results showed that the chiral Schiff base showed monotropic phases behavior in certain temperature range, the phase sequence is I-N-*-S-B-S-G-K on the cooling sequence.

Syntheses and properties of thermotropic copolyesters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid

Two series of thermotropic copolyesters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA) were synthesized by direct thermal polycondensation. One comprised aromatic copolyesters from HBA, terephthalic acid, bis(4-hydroxyphenyl) ketone (BHP) and resorcinol. The other comprised semi-aromatic copolyesters from HBA, terephthalic acid, BHP and alpha,-diols with carbon atom number of 4, 6, 8, 10. The properties of the two series were characterized by polarized light microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and wide angle X-ray diffraction. Most of the resulting copolyesters could form a nematic phase over a wide temperature range above their melting points. The effects of Variation in composition and monomer structure on the properties of copolyesters were discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis and characterization of thermotropic copolyesters and copoly(ester-amide)s containing oxyethylene-ether as the spacer

Flexible oxyethylene-ether was introduced into the aromatic copolyesters and copoly (ester-amide)s to reduce the melting point of resulting polymers. The melting point was greatly reduced to 200 degrees C or even lower in some cases, and the molecular weight was satisfactorily high as reflected by inherent viscosity. The polymers exhibited high thermal stability and good mechanical properties as determined by TGA and mechanical tests. The copolyester showed better crystallinity and liquid crystallinity than corresponding copoly (ester-amide)s with similar monomer composition as reflected by POM observation and WAXD study. The melting points for both copolyesters and copoly (ester-amide)s showed great dependence on the p-acetoxybenzoic acid (PAB) content in monomer composition and reached the lowest value when PAB was 29 mol%.

Studies on the structure and properties of thermotropic liquid crystalline poly(aryl ether ketone)s

Series of thermotropic liquid crystalline poly (aryl ether ketone) s were synthesized by mucleophilic substitution reactions of 4,4'-biphenol and substituted hydroquinone with different difluoromonomers, The relationship between structure and properties of the novel copolymers was investigated. For the copolymers with liquid crystalline properties, their melting transition temperatures show no great change with increase the content of the crystal-disrupting unit. The reason is that the crystal phase is directly transformed from the ordered liquid crystal phase. Side-groups have important effect on mesophase stability, The temperature range of mesophase stability for the chloro-polymers is smaller than those of other series of copolymers (P-phenyl, t-butyl, methoxy, 3-trifluoromethylbenzene). This behavior indicates that the effect of geometric repulsive factor on the thermodynamic stability of the mesophase is much larger than that of the polarizability attractive factor. Different ordered liquid crystal phases are observed in the polymers with different molecular weights. At low molecular weight, highly ordered smectic liquid crystal phases form. With increasing the molecular weight, the ordered degree of the liquid crystals decreases, and only the nematic liquid crystal phase is observed in the polymer with higher molecular weight.