1.
Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys
; 65(3 Pt 1): 031720, 2002 Mar.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-11909094
ABSTRACT
We report optical switching studies on nematic liquid crystal incorporated into structures based on self-assembled colloids. We compare the electro-optic responses of liquid crystal imbibed into colloid-templated polymers, liquid crystal imbibed in the interstitial space of colloid crystals, and conventional polymer-dispersed liquid crystals. We characterize the Bragg diffraction of our templated liquid-crystal/polymer composites as a function of electric field and measure switching times. The response of liquid crystal in connected networks differs qualitatively from that of liquid crystal in isolated cavities.