The Effect of a Topcoat with Amorphous Polymer Layers on the Mesogen Orientation and Photoalignment Behavior of Side Chain Liquid Crystalline Polymer Films

Abstract

The mesogen orientations of liquid crystals are sensitive to the nature of the contacting surface. For side chain liquid crystalline polymer (SCLCP) films, most investigations have been conducted for thin films formed on a solid substrate surface such as glass, quartz and metal oxides, and little knowledge has been accumulated for SCLCP films whose top surface is covered by amorphous polymers. This work presents the effect of a topcoat with amorphous polymers placed on SCLCP films on the mesogen orientation and photoalignment behavior. When an SCLCP film that adopts a homeotropic mesogen orientation is covered with a glass plate or polymer layer, the mesogens turns to a random planar orientation. This planar orientation is favorable for efficient in-plane photoalignment by irradiation with linear polarized light. An in-plane order parameter exceeding 0.5 is readily obtained. Unexpectedly, a significant stabilization of the liquid crystal phase by over 10 °C is observed above the isotropization temperature of the SCLCP. These fundamental sets of knowledge should be significant in the fabrication of various polymer LC devices.