Cholesteric liquid crystal mixtures for the switchable smart windows and light shutters: electro-optical and dielectric behavior

Cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) mixtures with variable pitch lengths were prepared for the electrical switchable smart window and light shutter applications by taking varied concentrations (2.6, 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 wt%) of chiral dopant (R1011) having helical twisting power 37.6 mu m-1 and nematic E7 liquid crystal (LC). The morphological and electro-optical analysis of these CLC mixtures filled in 10 mu m thick cells were observed and reported herein, the switching of initial planar (P) and initial focal conic (FC) to homeotropic (H) states as well as vice-versa. The operating voltage of the 2.6 wt% of chiral doped CLC cell was relatively lower among all the sample cells compared with other concentrations. The maximum contrast ratio (CR) was observed for 5.0 wt% chiral doped CLC cell with initial planar state. However, the best CR was observed in 2.6 wt% CLC cell with initial FC state. The comparative macroscopic views of the P, FC, and H states in the OFF and ON conditions of applied voltage for prepared CLC cells were observed for transparent and opaque states. Further, UV-visible spectroscopy was performed in the P, FC, and H states under the application of an externally applied field to observe the absorbance and band gap behavior of the fabricated CLC cells. Additionally, chiral concentration-dependent dielectric parameters with variable frequency in initial P and FC states of the fabricated cells were also reported. The temperature-dependent phase behavior of all the prepared cells exhibited a slight decrease in the isotropic phase of LC due to the doping of chiral dopants.