Self-healing properties of liquid crystalline composite based on borosiloxane

Abstract

A liquid crystalline composite (LC-composite) based on synthesized borosiloxane (BS) and 5 wt. % liquid crystal (LC) 4-cyano-4’-N-heptylbiphenyl was obtained and investigated. The microstructure of the obtained composite was characterized by the method of polarization optical microscopy (POM). It is shown that the LC in the composite is contained as a separate phase, which is not miscible with BS. The phase is represented by spherical micro droplets with sizes from 1 to 50 microns. The introduction of the LC into the BS matrix leads to the clouding of the initially transparent BS. This phenomenon is associated with the difference in the refractive indices of the LC and BS, which leads to light scattering on the micro droplets of the LC component. It was established that the BS matrix and the LC composite have self-healing properties after surface damage. The time of self-healing of surface damage at room temperature and normal conditions was about 1.5 - 2 hours. The obtained LC composites may be interesting as promising materials for flexible multilayer biocompatible electronics and electro-optical devices with self-healing properties.