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Novel Microstructures for Polymer-Liquid Crystal Composite MaterialsThere are a number of interface-dominated composite materials that contain a liquid crystalline (LC) phase in intimate contact with an isotropic phase. For example, polymer- dispersed liquid crystals, used in the fabrication of windows with switchable transparency, consist of micron size LC droplets dispersed in an isotropic polymer matrix. Many other types of liquid crystal composite materials can be envisioned that might have outstanding optical properties that could be exploited in novel chemical sensors, optical switches, and computer displays. This research project was based on the premise that many of these potentially useful LC composite materials can only be fabricated under microgravity conditions where gravity driven flows are absent. In the ground-based research described below, we have focused on a new class of LC composites that we call thermotropic- lyotropic liquid crystal systems (TLLCs). TLLCs consist of nanosize droplets of water dispersed in an LC matrix, with surfactants at the interface that stabilize the structure. By varying the type of surfactant one can access almost an infinite variety of unusual LC composite microstructures. Due to the importance of the interface in these types of systems, we have also developed molecular simulation models for liquid crystals at interfaces, and made some of the first measurements of the interfacial tension between liquid crystals and water.
Document ID
20040077043
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Contractor or Grantee Report
Authors
Magda, Jules J.
(Utah Univ. Salt Lake City, UT, United States)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Subject Category
Composite Materials
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG8-1665
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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