Alignment mechanism of liquid crystal in a stretched porous polymer film

This article discusses the mechanism of nematic liquid crystal alignment in stretched porous polymer films. The polymer films were formed by extreme stretching of an isotropic porous polyolefin, such that the draw ratio was 12:1. A 6-mum-thick porous film with a high porosity coefficient of 92% revealed fine string-shaped areas that exhibited optical anisotropy due to their possessing a high degree of molecular alignment. The porous film was filled with nematic liquid crystal and then the composite film was sandwiched between transparent electrodes coated onto glass substrates, without the use of conventional alignment layers. From polarizing microscopy observations it was found that the string-like polymer areas induce liquid crystal molecular alignment. The liquid crystal cells can exhibit an electrically controlled birefringence effect. This alignment technique enables us to realize three-dimensional control of liquid crystal alignment. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.