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Wu Y, Zou C, Shi Y, Song Z, Xiao J, Yu M, Gao Y, Wang Q, Yang H. Reverse-Mode Polymer-Stabilized Liquid Crystal Films with Enhanced Peel Strength and Electro-Optical Performance Based on Photoreactive Self-Assembly Alignment Layers and Patterned Polymer Walls. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:40046-40055. [PMID: 39025782 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c08934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/20/2024]
Abstract
Polymer-stabilized liquid crystal (PSLC) is a promising material toward the practical application of serving as energy-saving reverse-mode smart windows owing to its superior electro-optical (E-O) properties, simple and efficient processability, and compatibility to most practical circumstances. However, its feeble peel strength originated from low polymer content and poor adhesion between polymer networks and substrates inhibited its large-scale flexible film production. It is still a challenging task to derive good mechanical properties and superior E-O performance for PSLCs at the same time. In this study, a highly durable liquid crystal/polymer composite film showing enhanced peel strength and excellent E-O properties was attained by simultaneously building photoreactive self-assemble alignment layers through an efficient one-step method and the sculpture of a patterned polymer wall structure. This film has comprehensive ascendant E-O properties of lower driving voltages, faster response times, and higher contrast ratio, together with an over 30 times lift of the peel strength. The effectuation mechanisms of the alignment, E-O properties, peel-strength, microstructures, and cyclic durability of the films have been systematically studied. This novel liquid crystal/polymer composite film demonstrates advantages in every aspect of performance compared to traditional PSLC devices, which hoards promising applications in smart windows for cars and buildings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yishuo Wu
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Cheng Zou
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Yingjie Shi
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Zhexu Song
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Jiumei Xiao
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Meina Yu
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Yanzi Gao
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Qian Wang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Huai Yang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100083, China
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Cao M, Li Z, Lu J, Wang B, Lai H, Li Z, Gao Y, Ming X, Luo S, Peng L, Xu Z, Liu S, Liu Y, Gao C. Vertical Array of Graphite Oxide Liquid Crystal by Microwire Shearing for Highly Thermally Conductive Composites. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2023; 35:e2300077. [PMID: 36930178 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202300077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Excellent through-plane thermally conductive composites are highly demanded for efficient heat dissipation. Giant sheets have large crystalline domain and significantly reduce interface phonon scattering, making them promising to build highly thermally conductive composites. However, realizing vertical orientation of giant sheets remains challenging due to their enormous mass and huge hydrodynamic drag force. Here, we achieve highly vertically ordered liquid crystals of giant graphite oxide (more than 100 µm in lateral dimension) by microwire shearing, which endows the composite with a recorded through-plane thermal conductivity of 94 W m-1 K-1 . Microscale shearing fields induced by vertical motion of microwires conquer huge hydrodynamic energy barrier and vertically reorient giant sheets. The resulting liquid crystals exhibit extremely retarded relaxation and impart large-scale vertical array with bidirectional ordering degree as high as 0.82. The graphite array-based composites demonstrate an ultrahigh thermal enhancement efficiency of over 35 times per unit volume. Furthermore, the composites improve cooling efficiency by 93% for thermal management tests compared to commercial thermal interface materials. This work offers a novel methodology to precisely manipulate the orientation of giant particles and promote large-scale fabrication of vertical array with advanced functionalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Cao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
| | - Zheng Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
- Center for Healthcare Materials, Shaoxing Institute, Zhejiang University, Shaoxing, 312000, P. R. China
| | - Jiahao Lu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
| | - Bo Wang
- Hangzhou Gaoxi Technol Co. Ltd., Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
| | - Haiwen Lai
- Hangzhou Gaoxi Technol Co. Ltd., Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
| | - Zeshen Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
| | - Yue Gao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
| | - Xin Ming
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
| | - Shiyu Luo
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
| | - Li Peng
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
| | - Zhen Xu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
| | - Senping Liu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
| | - Yingjun Liu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
- Shanxi-Zheda Institute of Advanced Materials and Chemical Engineering, Taiyuan, 030024, P. R. China
| | - Chao Gao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
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Li H, Xu J, Ren Y, Han R, Song H, Huang R, Wang X, Zhang L, Cao H, Zou C, Yang H. Preparation of Highly Durable Reverse-Mode Polymer-Stabilized Liquid Crystal Films with Polymer Walls. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:2228-2236. [PMID: 36579944 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c19197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Reverse-mode polymer-stabilized liquid crystal (PSLC) films have wide applications in smart windows for cars as well as buildings and dimming glasses due to their low haze, low energy consumption, and better safety in case of emergency power off. However, PSLC films usually have poor stability of electro-optical properties due to their low polymer content (ca. 5 wt %), and it still remains a challenging task to improve the stability and processability by increasing the polymer content in PSLC as the driving voltage might dramatically increase. In this work, a reverse-mode PSLC film with polymer walls was prepared, which showed excellent stability of electro-optical properties even after 150 000 cycles. The film was prepared through polymerization with a photomask, in which the monomers concentrated on specific areas to form patterned polymer walls. In this way, the polymer content could be increased dramatically and the anchoring effect would not be too strong, thus avoiding a sharp increase in the driving voltage. As a result, the desired reverse-mode film with high stability, relatively low driving voltage, and high contrast ratio was obtained. The effects of monomer compositions, curing temperature, UV light intensity, and the pattern of the photomask on the microstructures, as well as electro-optical performances of the films were carefully studied. This work provides a new idea for the preparation of reverse-mode electrically switchable light-transmittance controllable films with excellent stability and good electro-optical performance, which would broaden their application in smart cars, building windows, and dimming glasses for light management and potential energy saving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Li
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
| | - Jianjun Xu
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
| | - Yunxiao Ren
- Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
| | - Rui Han
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
| | - He Song
- School of Mechanical Electronic and Information Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology-Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
| | - Rui Huang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
| | - Xiao Wang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
| | - Lanying Zhang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
| | - Hui Cao
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
| | - Cheng Zou
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
- Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
| | - Huai Yang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
- Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
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Cao M, Liu S, Zhu Q, Wang Y, Ma J, Li Z, Chang D, Zhu E, Ming X, Puchtler F, Breu J, Wu Z, Liu Y, Jiang Y, Xu Z, Gao C. Monodomain Liquid Crystals of Two-Dimensional Sheets by Boundary-Free Sheargraphy. NANO-MICRO LETTERS 2022; 14:192. [PMID: 36121520 PMCID: PMC9485412 DOI: 10.1007/s40820-022-00925-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Eliminating topological defects to achieve monodomain liquid crystals is highly significant for the fundamental studies of soft matter and building long-range ordered materials. However, liquid crystals are metastable and sensitive to external stimuli, such as flow, confinement, and electromagnetic fields, which cause their intrinsic polycrystallinity and topological defects. Here, we achieve the monodomain liquid crystals of graphene oxide over 30 cm through boundary-free sheargraphy. The obtained monodomain liquid crystals exhibit large-area uniform alignment of sheets, which has the same optical polarized angle and intensity. The monodomain liquid crystals provide bidirectionally ordered skeletons, which can be applied as lightweight thermal management materials with bidirectionally high thermal and electrical conductivity. Furthermore, we extend the controllable topology of two-dimensional colloids by introducing singularities and disclinations in monodomain liquid crystals. Topological structures with defect strength from - 2 to + 2 were realized. This work provides a facile methodology to study the structural order of soft matter at a macroscopic level, facilitating the fabrication of metamaterials with tunable and highly anisotropic architectures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Cao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Adsorption and Separation Materials and Technologies of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027 People’s Republic of China
| | - Senping Liu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Adsorption and Separation Materials and Technologies of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027 People’s Republic of China
| | - Qingli Zhu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Adsorption and Separation Materials and Technologies of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027 People’s Republic of China
| | - Ya Wang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Adsorption and Separation Materials and Technologies of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027 People’s Republic of China
| | - Jingyu Ma
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Adsorption and Separation Materials and Technologies of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027 People’s Republic of China
| | - Zeshen Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Adsorption and Separation Materials and Technologies of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027 People’s Republic of China
| | - Dan Chang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Adsorption and Separation Materials and Technologies of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027 People’s Republic of China
| | - Enhui Zhu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Adsorption and Separation Materials and Technologies of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027 People’s Republic of China
| | - Xin Ming
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Adsorption and Separation Materials and Technologies of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027 People’s Republic of China
| | - Florian Puchtler
- Bavarian Polymer Institute and Department of Chemistry, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstrasse 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Josef Breu
- Bavarian Polymer Institute and Department of Chemistry, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstrasse 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Ziliang Wu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Adsorption and Separation Materials and Technologies of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027 People’s Republic of China
| | - Yingjun Liu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Adsorption and Separation Materials and Technologies of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027 People’s Republic of China
- Shanxi-Zheda Institute of Advanced Materials and Chemical Engineering, Taiyuan, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yanqiu Jiang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Adsorption and Separation Materials and Technologies of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027 People’s Republic of China
- State Key Lab of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027 People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhen Xu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Adsorption and Separation Materials and Technologies of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027 People’s Republic of China
| | - Chao Gao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Adsorption and Separation Materials and Technologies of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027 People’s Republic of China
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