Influence of Fluorinated Surfactants on the Electro-Optic Switching of Near Infrared Sensitive Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystals.

We describe the influence of two fluorinated surfactant dopants on the electro-optical modulation of light scattering by near infrared sensitive polymer dispersed liquid crystals, based on multifunctional acrylates. The molecular configuration and droplet morphology of the obtained samples are found to be bipolar. It is shown that the addition of fluorinated surfactants to the initial mixture may reduce the voltage for the onset of switching and also may enable more efficient liquid crystal reorientation. However, the electrical short of obtained samples is prohibiting achieving complete modulation cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]