Wang Huihui, Liu Bingzhi, Wang Ling, Chen Xudong, Chen Zhaolong, Qi Yue, Cui Guang, Xie Huanhuan, Zhang Yanfeng, Liu Zhongfan
Center for Nanochemistry (CNC), Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies , Peking University , Beijing 100871 , People's Republic of China.
Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering , Texas A&M University , College Station , Texas 77840 , United States.
ACS Nano. 2018 Jul 24;12(7):6443-6451. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.8b01773. Epub 2018 May 24.
The photonic reflection of a cholesteric liquid crystal (ChLC) device depends on the spatial distribution of the orientations of their helical axes, and many orientation techniques have been developed so far. In this study, we select the hybrids of graphene directly grown on quartz glass as platforms to construct ChLC-based devices. This special design makes graphene serve as both an alignment layer and a conductive layer, thus affording a more simplified device fabrication route. We reveal that multidomain structures can be evolved for ChLCs on polycrystalline monolayer graphene on quartz glass, as evidenced by polarized optical microscope characterizations. The disparate orientations of the helical axes of ChLCs and the formation of multidomain structures are proposed to be induced by the different domain orientations of graphene, leading to a wide viewing angle of the ChLC-based devices. Moreover, the pitch of ChLCs is also observed to play a key role in the relative orientations of ChLCs. A wide viewing angle of the ChLC-based device is also detected especially in the infrared spectrum region. Briefly, this work should provoke the application of graphene glass as a perfect transparent electrode in the fabrication of liquid-crystal-based devices showing broad application potentials in intelligent laser protection and energy-saving smart windows.
胆甾相液晶（ChLC）器件的光子反射取决于其螺旋轴取向的空间分布，到目前为止已经开发了许多取向技术。在本研究中，我们选择直接生长在石英玻璃上的石墨烯杂化物作为平台来构建基于ChLC的器件。这种特殊设计使石墨烯既充当取向层又充当导电层，从而提供了更简化的器件制造路线。我们发现，通过偏振光学显微镜表征证明，在石英玻璃上的多晶单层石墨烯上的ChLC可以形成多畴结构。ChLC螺旋轴的不同取向和多畴结构的形成被认为是由石墨烯的不同畴取向引起的，这导致基于ChLC的器件具有宽视角。此外，还观察到ChLC的螺距在ChLC的相对取向中起关键作用。特别是在红外光谱区域也检测到基于ChLC的器件具有宽视角。简而言之，这项工作将推动石墨烯玻璃作为一种完美的透明电极在制造基于液晶的器件中的应用，这些器件在智能激光防护和节能智能窗方面具有广阔的应用潜力。
