Temperature dependence of the phase separation in ethyl cyanoethyl cellulose/poly(acrylic acid)/4 '-n-pentyl-r-cyano-biphenyl composite films
A novel polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal film consisting of micrometerscale liquid-crystal droplets in ultraviolet-cured polymer composite matrices with cholesteric order was prepared and the influence of cure temperature on the phase separation was studied. The existence and pitch of the ethyl cyanoethyl cellulose cholesteric liquid-crystalline phase were influenced by the existence of low molecular weight liquid crystals. The macromolecular cholesteric phase disappeared when the 4'-n-pentyl-4-cyano-biphenyl concentration was over 40 wt %, and 4'-n-pentyl-4-cyano-biphenyl domains were dispersed in the isotropic matrix of the polymer composite.