Liquid crystal composite

• US 20070045588A1
• Filed: 08/25/2006
• Published: 03/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chung-Yuan Christian University
• Original Assignee: Chung-Yuan Christian University
• Inventors: Tsai, Tsung-Yen, Huang, Yuan-Pin, Lu, Shau-Wen, Chang, Yun-Min
• Granted Patent: US 7,625,498 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 252/299.10
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 19/52 characterised by components which are not liquid crystals, e.g. additives with special physical aspect: solvents, solid particles
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 19/542 Macromolecular compounds

Abstract

The invention provides liquid crystal composites including a liquid crystal with a layered inorganic material and a photosensitive polymer dispersed therein. The layered inorganic layer reduces threshold voltage and enhances grating diffraction efficiency of the liquid crystal. The invention also provides a liquid crystal with a layered inorganic material dispersed in the liquid crystal, and a modified layered material MgAl—K2 LDH.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal composite, comprising:

a liquid crystal;

a photo-sensitive polymer; and

a layered inorganic material;

wherein the photo-sensitive polymer and layered inorganic material are dispersed in the liquid crystal.

2. The liquid crystal composite as claimed in claim 1, wherein the layered inorganic material comprises metal sulfides, metal phosphates, layered double hydroxides, natural clays, or modified clays.

3. The liquid crystal composite as claimed in claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal comprises nematic liquid crystal, smectic liquid crystal, or cholesteric liquid crystal.

4. The liquid crystal composite as claimed in claim 1, wherein the natural clay is smectite clay, vermiculite, halloysite, sericite, or mica.

5. The liquid crystal composite as claimed in claim 1, wherein the photo-sensitive polymer comprises photocurable acrylic resin.

6. The liquid crystal composite as claimed in claim 5, wherein the photocurable acrylic resin comprises penta-functional photocurable acrylic resin.

7. The liquid crystal composite as claimed in claim 1, wherein the layered inorganic material is less than 5 μ

m.

8. The liquid crystal composite as claimed in claim 1, wherein the layered inorganic material is about 10 nm to 1 μ

m.

9. The liquid crystal composite as claimed in claim 1, wherein the weight ratio of the layered inorganic material to the liquid crystal composite is less than 10%.

10. The liquid crystal composite as claimed in claim 1, wherein the weight ratio of the layered inorganic material to the liquid crystal composite is 0.1% to 7%.

11. The liquid crystal composite as claimed in claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal composite has a greater diffraction efficiency than a mixture of the liquid crystal and the photo-sensitive polymer.

12. The liquid crystal composite as claimed in claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal composite has a diffraction efficiency of 3% to 60%.