Open AccessMorphological appearances and photo-controllable coloration of dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal/polymer coaxial microfibers fabricated by coaxial electrospinning technique
Author(s) -
James T. Lin,
Che Pei Chen,
Lin Jer Chen,
Yu Chou Chuang,
Shuan Yu Huang,
Chia Rong Lee
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.24.003112
Subject(s) - microfiber , materials science , coaxial , spinning , cholesteric liquid crystal , polymer , dopant , electrospinning , core (optical fiber) , optics , optical fiber , optoelectronics , liquid crystal , composite material , doping , physics , electrical engineering , engineering
This study systematically investigates the morphological appearance of azo-chiral dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal (DDCLC)/polymer coaxial microfibers obtained through the coaxial electrospinning technique and examines, for the first time, their photocontrollable reflection characteristics. Experimental results show that the quasi-continuous electrospun microfibers can be successfully fabricated at a high polymer concentration of 17.5 wt% and an optimum ratio of 2 for the feeding rates of sheath to core materials at 25 °C and a high humidity of 50% ± 2% in the spinning chamber. Furthermore, the optical controllability of the reflective features for the electrospun fibers is studied in detail by changing the concentration of the azo-chiral dopant in the core material, the UV irradiation intensity, and the core diameter of the fibers. Relevant mechanisms are addressed to explain the optical-control behaviors of the DDCLC coaxial fibers. Considering the results, optically controllable DDCLC coaxial microfibers present potential applications in UV microsensors and wearable smart textiles or swabs.