Preparation and Application of Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal Film with Step-Driven Display Capability

The realization of multifunctional advanced displays with better electro-optical properties is especially crucial at present. However, conventional integral full drive-based transparent display is increasingly failing to meet the demands of the day. Herein, partitioned polymerization as a novel preparation method was introduced innovatively into polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLC) for realizing a step-driven display in agreement with fluorescent dye to solve the above drawback. At first, the utilization of fluorescent dye to endow the PDLC film with fluorescent properties resulted in a reduction in the saturation voltage of the PDLC from 39.7 V to 25.5 V and an increase in the contrast ratio from 58.4 to 96.6. Meanwhile, the experimental observations and theoretical considerations have elucidated that variation in microscopic pore size can significantly influence the electro-optical behavior of PDLC. Then, the step-driven PDLC film was fabricated through the exposure of different regions of the LC cell to different UV-light intensities, resulting in stepwise voltage-transmittance (V-T) responses of the PDLC film for the corresponding regions. Consequently, under appropriate driving voltages, the PDLC can realize three different states of total scattering, semi-transparent and total transparent, respectively. In addition, the PDLC film also embodied an outstanding anti-aging property and UV-shielding performance, which makes it fascinating for multifunctional advanced display applications.