• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.454-462
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• 1997

Thermotropic block copolyester(TLCP-b-PBN) based on poly(tetramethylene 2,6-(naphthaloyldioxy)dibenzoates)(TLCP) and poly(butylene 2,6-naphthalate)(PBN) was synthesized by solution polycondensation and melt-blended with poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate)(PEN) for in-situ composites. The TLCP domains showed nematic behavior in melt. The composition of block copolymer was determined from $^1H-NMR$ spectroscopy. The DSC thermogram of block copolymer revealed the presence of two major melting transitions, corresponding to the separete melting of PBN and TLCP domains. The glass transition temperature(Tg) of the PEN in the blends decreased with increasing the content of TLCP-b-PBN and the TLCP-b-PBN acted as a nucleating agent for the matrix polymers. In the 20% TLCP-b-PBN blend, well oriented TLCP fibriles were observed at temperature above the melting point of the PEN by optical microscopy. By scanning electron micrographs of cryogenically fractured surfaces of extruded blends, the TLCp domains were found to be finely and uniformely dispersed in 0.15 to $0.2{\mu}m$ size. Interfacial adhesion between the TLCP and matrix polymer was seemed to be good. Under certain condition TLCP formed a fiver structure in the PEN matrix, with thin oriented TLCP fibril in the skin region and spherical TLCP domains in the core.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.08a
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• pp.421-421
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• 2006

The light and energy-efficiency of classical liquid crystal displays is notoriously poor due to the use of absorption-based linear polarisers and colour filters. For instance, the light efficiency of PVAL polarisers is typically between 40 and 45 % and the colour filters have a typical efficiency below 35 % which results in a total light and energy-efficiency of the display below 10 %. In the past, a variety of polarizers were developed with an enhanced efficiency in generating linearly polarized light. Typically, these polarizers are based on the polarisationselective reflection, scattering or refraction of light i.e. one polarisation direction of light is directly transmitted to the LCD/viewer and the other polarization direction of light is depolarised and recycled which results in a typical efficiency for generating linearly polarized light of 70-85 %. Also, special colour filters have been proposed based on chiral-nematic reactive mesogens which increase the efficiency of generating colour. Despite the enormous progress in this field, a need persists for improved methods for generating polarized light and colour based on low cost optical components with a high efficiency. Here, the use of holographic phase gratings is reported for the generation of polarized light and colour. The phase grating are recorded in a photopolymer which is coated onto a backor frontlight for LCDs. Typically the recording is performed in the transmisson mode or in the waveguiding mode and slanted phase gratings are generated with their refractive index modulation at an angle between 20o and 45o with the normal of the substrate. It is shown that phase gratings with a high refractive index modulation and a high efficiency can be generated by a proper selection of the photopolymer and illumination conditions. These phase gratings coupleout linearly polarized light with a high contrast (> 100) and the light is directed directly to the LCD/viewer without the need for redirection foils. Dependent on the type of phase grating, the different colours are coupled-out at a slightly different angle which potentially increases the efficiency of classical colour filters. Moreover, the phase gratings are completely transparent in direct view which opens the possibility to use them in frontlights for LCDs. Holographic polarization gratings posses a periodic pattern in the polarization state of light (and not in the intensity of light). A periodic pattern in the polarization direction of linearly polarized light is obtained upon interference of two circularly polarized laser beams. In the second part of the lecture, it is shown that these periodic polarization patterns can be recorded in a linear photo-polymerizable polymer (LPP) and that such an alignment layer induces a period rotation in the director of (reactive and non-reactive) liquid crystals. By a proper design, optical components can be produced with only first order diffraction and with a very high efficiency (>0.98). It is shown that these diffraction gratings are potentially useful in projection displays with a high brightness and energy efficiency

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.135-138
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• 2007

In this study, we investigated the electro-optical (EO) characteristic of fringe-field switching (FFS) mode cell by the two kinds of ultraviolet (UV) alignment method on the organic thin film (polyimide: PI). The suitable organic layers for FFS cell and the aligning capabilities of nematic liquid crystal (NLC) using the in-situ photoalignment method were studied; Disclination is observed after conventional photoalignment method for 1h, and in-situ photoalignment method for 1h. Monodomain alignment of the NLC can be observed via insitu photo alignment method for 2 h and 3 h. It is considered that NLC alignment is due to photo-depolymerization of the polymer with oblique non-polarized UV irradiation on PI surface. An unstable V-T curve of UV-aligned FFS-LCD with conventional photoalignment method can be achieved. However, a stable V-T curve of UV-aligned FFS-LCD with in-situ photoalignment method (1 h), and V-T curve of UV-aligned FFS-LCD with in-situ photo alignment method was much stable comparing with that of other UV-aligned FFSLCD's. As a result, more stable EO performance of UV-aligned FFS-LCD with in-situ photoalignment method for 3h is obtained than that of the other UV-aligned FFS-LCD's.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.07a
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• pp.489-492
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• 2005

We report new polymer stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal (PSFLC) cells with mechanical stability which is achievable by introducing photospacers in the cells. It was found that the mechanical st ability of the PSFLC cell was effected by introduction of photo spacers. We analyzed the dependence of mechanical stability and memory property on the density of photospacers in the PSFLC cell. The stability and memory properties of PSFLC Cells depending on photospacer density are discussed. 1. Introduction Recently, flexible displays have attracted much attention because they have remarkable advantages: thinner, lighter, non-breakable and conformable features. Flexible displays have various potential applications such as e-book and e-paper displays utilizing the distinct features. E-book and E-paper displays demand very low power consumption, so that bistable memory liquid crystal modes are required in case of flexible plastic LCDs for those application. Three kinds of memory LC modes have been developed; bistable nematic, bistable cholesteric and bistable FLC. Among them SSFLC as one of bistable FLC has big advantages such as low driving voltage, wide view angle and fast response time, SSFLC cells are, however, very weak against mechanical shock. Polymer stabilized FLC (PSFLC) has been developed to overcome the poor mechanical stability of SSFLC. PSFLC was known to have network structure that FLCs are oriented with smectic layer ordering in polymer network. The polymer network stabilizes the FLC orientation, which leads to improvement of mechanical stability of PSFLCD. A lot of studies have been done for the application of PSFLC to flexible $LCDs.^{[1{\sim}12]}$ However, it should be noted that PSFLC does not have sufficient mechanical stability for the particular applications such as smart card LCD, where LCD is highly bendable.Bead spacer was mainly used to maintain cell gap of conventional PSFLCDs. But the spacer density of it is not locally uniform in the cell, so that it is generally difficult that the PSFLCDs with bead spacers show sufficient mechanical stability. In order to more improve the mechanical stability of PSFLCDs, we introduced photospacers into PSFLCDs. In this paper, we describe the improvement of mechanical stability by introducing photospacers into PSFLCDs.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.350-355
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• 2011

A soluble polyamide containing photosensitive l,4-phenylenediacrylic acid (PDA) in main chain with biphenyl moiety was synthesized. The chemical structure of synthesized polyamide was investigated by means of $^1H$ NMR spectroscopy. The polymer was stable up to $280^{\circ}C$ and soluble in organic solvents, giving a good quality of thin films. The photoreaction of unpolarized LTV irradiated films was investigated by means of UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and FTlR spectroscopy, and liquid crystals (LCs) alignment property was examined by exposing to linearly polarized UV light (LPUVL) of 260~380 nm. The polyamide in film has excellent photoreactivity to unpolarized UV light. Direction selective photoreaction of PDA moiety in Lhe film was found to further induce nematic liquid -crystals to align along a perpendicular direction with respect to the electric vector of LPUVL, regardless of exposure energy of LPUVL. In addition, pretilt angle was measured by means of crystal rotation method. LPUVL-exposed polymer film induced the alignment of liquid-crystals (LC) with a pretilt angle of 0.2~$0.5^{\circ}$.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.446-457
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• 2008

Three kinds of hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) derivatives: 6- (cholesteryloxycarbonyl) pentoxypropyl celluloses(CHPCs) with degree of esterification(DE) ranging from 0.6 to 3, 6-[4-{4'-(nitrophenylazo)phenoxycarbonyl}] pentoxypropyl celluloses (NHPCs) with DE ranging from 0.4 to 3, and fully 6-(cholesteryloxycarbonyl) pentanoated NHPCs (CNHPCs) were synthesized, and their thermotropic liquid crystalline properties were investigated. All the CHPCs and NHPCs with $DE{\leq}1.7$ formed enantiotropic cholesteric phases, whereas CNHPCs with 6-(cholesteryloxycarbonyl) pentanoyl DE(DEC) more than 1.6 exhibited monotropic cholesteric phases. On the other hand, NHPCs with $DE{\geq}2.4$ and CNHPCs with $DEC{\leq}1.3$ showed monotropic nematic phases. NHPCs with $DE{\leq}l$, as well as HPC, formed right-handed helices whose optical pitches (${{\lambda}_m}'s$) increase with temperature, while all the CHPCs formed left-handed helices whose ${{\lambda}_m}'s$ decrease with temperature. In contrast with these derivatives, NHPCs with $1.4{\leq}DE{\leq}1.7$ and CNHPCs with $DEC{\geq}1.6$ did not display reflection colors over the full cholesteric range, suggesting that the helical twisting power of the cellulose chain and the cholesteryl group highly depends on the chemical structure and DE of mesogenic group.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.244-257
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• 2002

A thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer(TLCP) which has flexible butylene/hexylene spacers in the main chain and a triad aromatic ester type mesogenic unit containing a naphthyl group was prepared by solution polycondensation. The in-situ composites based on poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) (PEN) and a thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer(TLCP) were prepared and melt spun at different TLCP contents and different draw ratios to produce monofilaments. Blends of the TLCP with PEN were investigated in terms of thermal, mechanical properties and morphology. The TLCP synthesized showed nematic mesophasic behavior and its transition temperature to isotropic melt from mesophase was 249℃. The blends showed well dispersed TLCP phases in the PEN matrix without macroscopic phase separation. Inclusion of TLCP in the blends decreased the cold crystallization temperature of PEN in the blend, therefore, the TLCP acts as a nucleating agent in the blend and showed good interfacial adhesion between the dispersed LCP phases and PEN matrix with domain sizes 40~50 nm in diameter and well developed fibrillation in the monofilaments. The TLCP acted effectively as a reinforcing material in the PEN matrix at the 10wt% level, it led to an increase of initial modulus up to 270% and tensile strength by 235%, while the elongation rate increasing with higher draw ratios.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.169-274
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• 2024

Recent attention has been drawn to materials that undergo reversible expansion and contraction in response to external stimuli, leading to morphological changes. These materials hold potential applications in various fields including soft robotics, sensors, and artificial muscles. In this study, a novel material capable of responding to high temperatures for protection or encapsulation is proposed. To achieve this, liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) with nematic-isotropic transition properties and polyimide (PI) with high mechanical strength and thermal stability were utilized. To utilize a solution process, a dope solution was synthesized and introduced into micro-printing techniques to develop a two-dimensional pattern of LCE/PI bilayer structures with sub-millimeter widths. The honeycomb-patterned LCE/PI bilayer mesh combined the mechanical strength of PI with the high-temperature contraction behavior of LCE, and selective printing of LCE facilitated deformation in desired directions at high temperatures. Consequently, the functionality of selectively and reversibly encapsulating specific high-temperature materials was achieved. This study suggests potential applications in various actuator fields where functionalities can be implemented across different temperature ranges without the need for electrical energy input, contingent upon molecular changes in LCE.