Abstract
We demonstrate homogeneous and uniform liquid crystal (LC) alignment on poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) [PVDF-TrFE] films using ion-beam (IB) irradiation and a performance improvement of twisted nematic (TN) cells using IB-irradiated PVDF-TrFE films. Spontaneous ferroelectricity of the PVDF-TrFE films was modified by IB irradiation, which affected the LC alignment properties. The variation in the pre-tilt angles of the LC molecules on the IB-irradiated PVDF films is attributed to surface reformation, including defluorination and oxidation because the pre-tilt angles of LC molecules can be controlled by adjusting the fluorine content. The results of contact angle measurements supported this phenomenon. A 58% reduction in the switching voltage was observed for TN cells, indicating that the IB-irradiated PVDF-TrFE films are a promising candidate for use as an alignment layer.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1262-1268 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Liquid Crystals |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 Sep 2 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2015 Taylor & Francis.
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Chemistry(all)
- Materials Science(all)
- Condensed Matter Physics