Ordering in liquid crystal droplets for scattering polarizer applications

We report on a comprehensive study to measure the interactions between polymer and elongated liquid crystal droplets. These polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) materials are well suited for scattering polarizer applications. As tensile strain is applied to the PDLC, an optical polarizer element is created. Using solid-state deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance we report on the degree of orientational order at the liquid crystal-polymer interface as a function of strain, which is correlated to insitu tensile-optical measurements.