Investigation of mechanical behavior of polymer encapsulated liquid crystal composites

Abstract

In this study, the mechanical properties of polymer-liquid crystal composite films have been investigated as a function of changing polymer concentration. Nematic liquid crystal was encapsulated in waterborne polymer matrix of the polymer-liquid crystal composite films. The mechanical tests were carried out applying three- point bending tests on these films and the experimental results showed that the bending strength increases with the increasing polymer matrix concentration. The effects of the bending strength and polymer concentration on the morphological behaviors of these droplets were examined by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The morphological and mechanical tests showed that the bending strength decreased with the increasing size and density of the waterborne encapsulated liquid crystal droplets.