Polymer‐dispersed liquid‐crystal materials fabricated with frontal polymerization

We report on the morphological and thermal properties of polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) fabricated with frontal-polymerization-induced phase separation (FPIPS). Frontal polymerization is characterized by a rapid-conversion, high-temperature, and large-thermal-gradient environment. A comparison is made between the morphological and thermal properties of PDLCs fabricated with FPIPS and traditional thermal-polymerization-induced phase separation. Characterization includes differential scanning calorimetry to probe the glass and nematic-to-isotropic transitions and scanning electron microscopy to evaluate the phase-separated morphology. In addition, the frontal temperatures and velocities are reported for PDLCs fabricated with frontal polymerization. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 204–212, 2003

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