UV irradiation gradient induced banded texture in photo-polymerized ethyl-cyanoethyl cellulose/poly(acrylic acid) cholesteric liquid crystalline films and patterns fabrication thereof

Abstract

The photo-polymerization-induced banded texture of ethyl-cyanoethyl cellulose/acrylic acid/copper acrylate ((E-CE)C/AA/CuAA2) cholesteric liquid crystalline (CLC) solutions were investigated. The results indicate that the CLC phase can be fixed by the photo-polymerization. Banded texture was obtained in the photo-polymerized CLC films. The orientation of the banded texture induced by the photo-polymerization depends on the gradient of UV irradiations on the surface of the (E-CE)C/AA/CuAA2 CLC solutions. CLC films with different patterns can be obtained by introducing the UV irradiation gradient on the (E-CE)C/AA/CuAA2 CLC solutions surface by using masks with different patterns. The simple approach for the fabrication of CLC films with different patterns may have the potential application in the fields of holographic image storage.