The 60 mm sized liquid crystal porous particles were prepared using microfluidics and UV polymerization with RM257/5CB mixtures and their structures were studied using micro beam X-ray diffraction.  The RM257/5CB droplets coated with SDS and PVA showed the radical and bipolar configurations, respectively and the UV polymerization locked their orientation into solid particles. During UV polymerization, the magnetic field was applied to align the anisotropic bipolar RM257/5CB droplets coated with PVA.  When UV beam direction is parallel to the axis of the two defect poles of the bipolar droplet, the high anisotropic liquid crystal particles were produced.  Without magnetic field during UV polymerization, the produced LC particles had helical structures due to replacement of energetically costly splay packing with twisted packing at the defect poles.  The detailed structures of the LC particles were studied with more than 200 two-dimensional micro-beam X-ray diffraction patterns for one LC particle, for the first time.  The porous structure induced the infiltration of 5CB into LC particles which caused the rotation of the anisotropic LC particles in the PI-coated LC cell along the rubbing direction. The combination of the porous structure and alignment of the LC chains in the anisotropic LC particles exhibited a unique rotating ability in the LC cell.

Preparation of anisotropic liquid crystal particles using microfluidics

248th National Meeting (2014)

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