The electro-optics of nematic liquid crystals stabilized by a polymer network

Samples of nematics stabilized by a polymer network, which are new composite materials, were prepared. A ZhK-1277 nematic composite and a bisphenyl-A-dimethacrylate monomer were used. Polymerization was conducted via UV radiation. The electro-optic properties, i.e., the dependence of transmittance and the turn-on and turn-off times on the electric voltage and layer thickness, of the resulting material and a pure nematic were studied. The experimental results are explained by the domain structure of the nematic in a polymer network, according to which the liquid crystal in an electro-optic cell is composed of oriented domains separated by thin partitions of the polymer. The size of the domain regions of the liquid crystal is 2 mu m.