Study of Casting Self-Colored Liquid Crystalline Solid Films of Hydroxypropyl Cellulose

Abstract

Solutions of lyotropic cholesteric liquid crystalline hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) in water would be self-colored due to the selective reflection of visible light, depending on the solution concentration. Colored coating of the liquid crystalline aqueous HPC solutions was attempted to apply. HPC solid films were found which could cast from the liquid crystalline solutions at different conditions such as solution concentration and different drying temperature. Experiments show that both solution concentration and cooling velocity play an important effect in controlling the color of HPC films.