Preparation of polymer dispersed liquid crystal doped with bilayer nanofiber membranes and phase‐change microcapsule coating for enhanced infrared modulation

Abstract

AbstractThe effective manipulation and regulation of infrared (IR) radiation represent significant advancements in the realm of liquid crystal applications. In this investigation, the synergistic integration of nanofiber membranes and phase change microencapsulated film with polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) layers was employed for IR modulation. To obtain the excellent electro‐optical properties of PDLC composite films, the ratio of the PDLC system, the thickness of the nanofiber membrane, and the concentration of phase‐change microcapsules were meticulously regulated, and the polymer network morphology of the PDLC films was analyzed to achieve a high contrast ratio (162.72) of PDLC composite films. The fabricated PDLC composite devices show excellent IR shielding efficiency of 15% in the presence of doped nanofiber membranes and phase change microencapsulated films. Notably, patterned nanofiber layers and phase‐change microcapsule coating were obtained by template electrospinning, resulting in patternable PDLC composite film devices.