Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Novel Techniques for Observing Structural Dynamics of Photoresponsive Liquid Crystals
Published on: May 29, 2018
Orientational photorefractive effects observed in polymer-dispersed liquid crystals
Abstract:
We present a novel type of photorefractive polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) that contains a polymer, low-molecular liquid crystals (LC's), and a photoconductive sensitizer. Photorefractivity is demonstrated by two-beam-coupling experiments with an external dc field. This material shows highly sensitive photorefractivity, and a purely refractive-index grating (Dn >/= 3.0 x 10(-3)) is generated by irradiation of interference light (lambda=632.8 nm) . The grating in the photorefractive PDLC's shows strong anisotropy, and the dynamics depends strongly on the composition. In the case of a 40:60 weight ratio of polymer:LC's, the photorefractive PDLC's present a stable memory effect.
Related Concept Videos
Polymer Classification: Stereospecificity
Properties of Enantiomers and Optical Activity
Polymer Classification: Crystallinity
Crystalline domains are the regions where polymer chains are aligned in an orderly manner and held together in proximity by intermolecular forces. For example, chains in the crystalline domains of polyethylene and nylon are bound together by van der Waals...
Cationic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism

