Lee Dong Wook, Kim Tae-Hyun, Kim Young Kwon, Seo Dae-Shik
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Jeonju University, 303 Cheonjam-ro, Wansan-gu, Jeonju-si 55069, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea.
Energy Industry Promotion Group, Jeonbuk Technopark, 110-5 Ballyong-ro, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si 54853, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2025 Mar 15;15(6):449. doi: 10.3390/nano15060449.
This study presents the uniform alignment of liquid crystal (LC) molecules on silver (Ag)-doped nickel oxide (NiO) films. The films were fabricated using a solution brush coating process, with Ag doping concentrations of 0, 10, and 20 wt%. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the successful formation of the films, while atomic force microscopy revealed nano/microgroove anisotropic structures, attributed to brush hair movement during coating. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated the films' amorphous nature. Optical transmittance measurements demonstrated their suitability for electronic display applications. Polarized optical microscopy verified uniform LC molecular alignment and effective optical control. The fabricated LC cells exhibited increased LC polar anchoring energy, improving device stability. The polar anchoring energy increased by 1159.02% after Ag doping. Additionally, reduced residual charge was observed, suggesting minimized image sticking. These findings indicate that Ag-doped NiO films are a promising alternative for LC alignment layers in functional LC systems.
本研究展示了液晶（LC）分子在掺银（Ag）的氧化镍（NiO）薄膜上的均匀排列。这些薄膜采用溶液刷涂工艺制备，Ag掺杂浓度分别为0、10和20 wt%。X射线光电子能谱证实了薄膜的成功形成，而原子力显微镜揭示了纳米/微槽各向异性结构，这归因于涂覆过程中刷毛的移动。X射线衍射分析表明薄膜具有非晶态性质。光学透过率测量证明了它们适用于电子显示应用。偏振光学显微镜验证了LC分子的均匀排列和有效的光学控制。所制备的LC盒表现出增加的LC极性锚定能，提高了器件稳定性。Ag掺杂后，极性锚定能增加了1159.02%。此外，观察到残余电荷减少，表明图像残留最小化。这些发现表明，掺Ag的NiO薄膜是功能性LC系统中LC取向层的一种有前途的替代材料。
