The photoelectric properties characteristics of dye-doped nematic liquid crystal microcapsules with different structural composition

In this study, we promote a new dye-doped nematic liquid crystal (DDNLC) microcapsules system sandwiched between two ITO substrates for making an electrochromic fabric coating with both low driving voltage and wide versatility. The effects of the dye dosage, particle size and shell thickness of microcapsules on the electrooptical properties of DDNLC microcapsules were systematically investigated. Results show that optical appearance of the optimized DDNLC microcapsules can be reversibly changed between transparent and colored states by switching on and off the direct-current power. Driving voltage, response time and delay time were close related to the particle size of DDNLC core in microcapsules, and an alignment model was used to calculate the geometric construction of the microcapsules. The proposed experimental results provide reliable simulations of the electro-optical properties of DDNLC microcapsules which showing great potential applications in a wide range of uses, such as electronic paper, military camouflage coating or intelligent flexible display fabric. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.