Formation of radial aligned and uniform nematic liquid crystal droplets via drop-on-demand inkjet printing into a partially-wet polymer layer
Formation of radial aligned and uniform nematic liquid crystal droplets via drop-on-demand inkjet printing into a partially-wet polymer layer
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DOI：
10.1016/j.optmat.2018.04.038
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发表时间：
2018-06-01
影响因子：
3.9
通讯作者：
Morris, Stephen M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Parry, Ellis;Kim, Dong-Jin;Morris, Stephen M.
本文研究了向列型液晶(LC)在不同基板上的按需喷墨打印。当采用传统的对准表面时，在印刷液滴中同时实现定义明确的液滴边界和LC导向器的一致性可能是具有挑战性的。尽管喷墨打印LC越来越流行，但在实验中，沉积过程中涉及的机制，如液滴撞击、润湿和扩散，作为促进所得液滴取向的可行途径，很少受到关注。在这项工作中，通过使用部分湿的聚合物衬底，利用液滴撞击和随后的润湿过程中产生的力和流动，实现了导向器的径向对准和液滴边界的均匀。我们的发现可能会对未来的LC喷墨应用产生重要影响，包括智能墨水、可打印传感器和激光的开发。
This paper investigates the drop-on-demand inkjet printing of a nematic liquid crystal (LC) onto a variety of substrates. Achieving both a well-defined droplet boundary and uniformity of the LC director in printed droplets can be challenging when traditional alignment surfaces are employed. Despite the increasing popularity of inkjet printing LCs, the mechanisms that are involved during the deposition process such as drop impact, wetting and spreading have received very little attention, in the way of experiments, as viable routes for promoting alignment of the resultant LC droplets. In this work, radial alignment of the director and uniformity of the droplet boundary are achieved in combination via the use of a partially-wet polymer substrate, which makes use of the forces and flow generated during droplet impact and subsequent wetting process. Our findings could have important consequences for future LC inkjet applications, including the development of smart inks, printable sensors and lasers.