Printable photonic polymer coating based on a monodomain blue phase liquid crystal network

Abstract

Fabrication of liquid-crystalline polymer networks with periodic nanoscale features is highly desired for photonic applications. Here, a printable photonic polymer coating has been fabricated from a monodomain liquid crystalline blue phase (BP) network. The BP polymer coating with high reflectivity is covalently linked to the glass substrate, which can be patterned by using an LC-ink to swell the network. The degree of swelling depends on the printed amount of LC-ink which can be controlled through adjusting the voltages of the inkjet printer. Arbitrary multicolour patterns covering the visible spectrum from 451 to 618 nm can be printed and erased multiple times, making these BP polymer coatings promising as rewritable photonic papers and responsive photonic materials.