Y Effects of formulation composition and CeO2 nanoparticles doping on the morphologies of polymer spacer columns and electro-optical properties of PDLC

Polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) with polymer spacer columns were prepared by ultraviolet (UV) stepwise polymerization induced phase separation (PIPS) process. The influences of the formulation composition, such as the internal proportion of monomers and the liquid crystal (LC) content, on the morphologies of polymer spacer columns and electro-optical properties of PDLC films, were researched. Due to the difference in crosslinking density and polymerization rate, PDLC films exhibit different morphologies of polymer spacer columns and electro-optic properties. Based on the above, the CeO2 nanoparticles were doped into PDLC films. The influences of the doping content of CeO2 nanoparticles on the polymer network and electro-optical properties of PDLC were studied, and the EDS spectra were used to characterize the extent of dispersion of CeO2 nanoparticles in the polymer matrix. The results of the study showed that the contrast ratio (CR) of PDLC film increases from 10.9 to 27.3 at 0.8% CeO2 nanoparticles doping, while the saturation voltage (Vsat) decreases from 71.3 V to 47.9 V. Therefore, the work offers a new approach to the preparation of PDLC films with excellent comprehensive performance.