Preparation and characterization of electronic inks encapsulation for microcapsule-type electrophoretic displays (EPDs)

Electrophoretic displays based on electronic inks are promising candidates for electronic-paper applications because of their excellent ink-on-paper quality. Microcapsules containing polymer-coated titanium dioxide and green electronic ink suspensions as core materials were fabricated via complex coacervation using gelatin/acacia as the wall materials. The gelatin/acacia microcapsules were characterized in terms of their microstructure, morphologies, thermal properties, and electrophoretic display cell structure by means of optical microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and thermogravimetic analysis (TGA). The experimental results reveal that the polymer-coated white electronic inks in the microcapsules moved toward the positive electrode, but were pulled back in the opposite direction when the polarity was reversed.