The fabrication of novel optical diffusers based on UV-cured polymer dispersed liquid crystals

Haipeng Maa, Le Zhoua, Cheng Hanb, Cuihong Zhang*ac & Lanying Zhang*aa Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, P.R. Chinab Department of Materials Physics and Chemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, P.R. Chinac School of Science, Xijing University, Xi’an, P.R. ChinaCONTACT Cuihong Zhang zhangcuihong@xijing.edu.cn; Lanying Zhang zhanglanying@pku.edu.cnABSTRACTPolymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) with different sizes of the LC droplets are prepared based on the ultraviolet (UV) light curable acrylate monomers/LCs composites to fabricate the optical diffuser films. To acquire light diffusers with high optical performance, the effects of the monomer structure and the UV light intensity on the micro-structure of the PDLC films are studied. Results show that the PDLC films could exhibit a strong light scattering at the premise of maintaining high transmittance in the visible region. As the LC droplets are spherically dispersed in the polymer networks, when the size of LC droplets is about 3.0 μm, the haze can reach 88.5% and the transmittance is nearly 90.0%, which can be used as a bottom diffuser film. While when the size of LC droplets is about 10.0 μm, the haze and transmittance are 39.2% and 90.2%, respectively; hence, it can be a good choice for a top diffuser film. With the advantages of simple preparation, roll-to-roll industrial production and tunable optical properties, it is supported that the films based on UV-cured PDLC films can be applied as outstanding optical diffuser films in the liquid crystal display industry.