Hyperbranched polyimide application in liquid crystal alignment layers

Several hyperbranched polyimides (HBPIs) were applied in liquid crystal (LC) alignment layers and exhibited outstanding performance for LC alignment. The maximum pretilt angle was above 8°, and the minimum pretilt angle was 4.2°. The results of atomic force microscope measurement disclosed that a lot of grooves were aligned parallel to the rubbing direction and found that the grooves were not main factor for LC alignment. The LC alignment and pretilt angles are unambiguously associated with the intrinsic HBPI chemical structures. The results of thermal gravimetric analysis and ultraviolet–visible spectra showed that the HBPIs had good thermal stability and excellent transmittance. T₅ and T₁₀ were higher than 360°C and 400°C, respectively. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The band alignment at CdS/Cu2ZnSnSe4 heterojunction interface

Band alignment at CdS/Cu₂ZnSnSe₄ heterojunction interface is studied by X‐ray photoemission spectroscopy. The Cu₂ZnSnSe₄ thin films are prepared by selenization of electrodeposited Cu‐Zn‐Sn precursors. CdS overlayers with different thickness are sequentially grown on the Cu₂ZnSnSe₄ substrate by pulsed laser deposition process. Photoemission spectra are obtained before and after each growth to study the conduction and valence band offsets at the heterojunction interface. The determined conduction band offset of 0.34 eV indicates a spike‐like ‘type I’ band alignment at CdS/Cu₂ZnSnSe₄ interface. The spike will avoid interface recombination, and it is low enough that electron could transfer from the Cu₂ZnSnSe₄ layer to the buffer layer which is suitable for solar cell's fabrication. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and properties of new materials with banana-shaped achiral cores and chiral end groups

New chiral bent-core mesogens, derivatives of 1,3-phenylene bis[4-(alkanyloxyphenyliminomethyl)benzoate], were synthesized with variation of a substituent (X=F, Cl); their antiferroelectric properties are described. The mesomorphic and switching properties were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, polarizing optical microscopy, triangular wave method, and X-ray diffractometry in the small and wide angle regions. The presence of chiral tails at the terminals of side wings in the bent-core molecules induced a decrease in transition temperature and formation of the switchable SmC* phase in the melt. In addition, the introduction of a lateral halogen substituent in the Schiff's base moiety prevented the regular stacking of the molecules, resulting in the formation of very complex optical textures. The smectic phase with F-substituted PBFDOB and Cl-substituted PBCDOB showed layer spacings of 39 and 38.5?Å, respectively, corresponding to the end-to-end distance of molecules with a bent conformation. Significantly, the smectic phases of PBFDOB and PBCDOB exhibited a period of 179.5 and 131?Å, respectively, compatible with a helical structure with periodicity about 4.6 and 3.4 times the layer spacings.     

Liquid crystal alignment properties of 2-naphthoxymethyl-substituted polystyrenes

The liquid crystal (LC) alignment properties of LC cells fabricated with films of 2-naphthoxymethyl-substituted polystyrenes with different contents of naphthoxymethyl side groups were investigated. The polymer films exhibited good optical transparency in the visible light region (400–700 nm). The LC cells made from the unrubbed films of polymers having more than 57 mol%?of 2-naphthoxymethyl containing monomeric units showed homeotropic LC alignment with a high pretilt angle of about 90^o. Good electro-optical characteristics, such as the threshold voltage, response time, voltage holding ratio and residual DC voltage were observed for the LC cells fabricated with the polymer having 100 mol%?of 2-naphthoxymethyl containing monomeric units as an LC alignment layer.     

Synthesis and properties of novel 1,1‐difluoropropoxy‐linked liquid crystalline compounds of negative dielectric anisotropy

A series of liquid crystalline compounds having the difluoropropyleneoxy moiety (–OCF₂C₂H₄–) as a linking group has been synthesized. The physical properties, i.e. dielectric anisotropy, birefringence, viscosity and phase transition temperatures, have been measured. This novel class of compounds shows a larger negative dielectric anisotropy than the corresponding compounds having a propyleneoxy (–OC₃H₆–) linking group. Their dielectric properties may be explained by the combined effect of fluorine atoms with large electron negativities and the electron donating feature of an oxygen atom substituted on the same carbon atom. The semi‐empirical quantum calculation method (AM1) also confirmed this dielectric behaviour of the difluoropropyleneoxy linkage group.     

A small-angle X-ray scattering study of nanoparticle assembly in an aligned nematic liquid crystal

The assembly of colloidal particles in a nematic liquid crystal has been investigated using small-angle X-ray scattering. The structure and orientation of nanoparticle assemblies in bulk samples of aligned nematic liquid crystal have been determined. The method offers some advantages over optical microscopy, which is usually restricted to investigations of thin cells and micron-sized particles. The scattering from chains of particles has been calculated, and comparison with experimental results has shown that suspensions of 48 and 105 nm diameter silica nanoparticles formed highly ordered structures perpendicular to the liquid crystal director, consistent with quadrupolar defect-induced assembly.     

Controllable alignment of liquid crystals based on the surface relief gratings from a photocross-linkable organic monomer

The orientational control of liquid crystal (LC) molecules is essential for high-quality liquid crystal displays, and the photo-induced surface relief grating (SRG) is a facile and effective non-contact process. Here, SRGs with different period and depth were prepared with a photocross-linkable organic monomer 4-propyldiphenylacetylenecarboxylic acid cinnamyl ester (PDACE), and the LC alignment induced by SRG was studied. It is found that both the surface topography and the chemical nature of the surface are responsible for the LC alignment, which is strongly dependent on the groove geometry of the gratings. Furthermore, the patterned LC cell was fabricated with the patterned SRG surface. These results demonstrate that the planar, perpendicular and patterned orientations of LC can be easily photo-controllably obtained with PDACE, which have important applications in optical devices.     

Self-constructed stable liquid crystal alignment in a monomer-liquid crystal mixture system

Here, we demonstrate excellent liquid crystal (LC) vertical alignment without using an alignment layer printing process by introducing octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) into the LC mixture. Further, we investigated the alignment mechanism by analysing the surfaces of the substrates. The optimum concentration of OTS was found to be about 0.03 wt%, which is 1/100 of that in the previously reported polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)–LC system. Moreover, the OTS–LC system exhibited a more stable LC alignment compared with the POSS–LC system. These differences may arise from the different strengths of surface–dopant interactions; that is, the covalent bond in the OTS–LC system and the van der Waals interactions in the POSS–LC system. We also demonstrated that the method can be used in a capillary tube, which may serve as a new method facilitating the application of LCs with curved surfaces.