Issue 40, 2022

Liquid crystal droplet design by using pseudopeptidic bottlebrush polymer additives

Abstract

Liquid crystal (LC) droplets are promising candidates for sensing applications due to their high sensitivity to surface anchoring changes, resulting in readily detectable optical effects. Herein, we have designed and synthesized amino acid-based bottlebrush polymers and investigated their impact on LC director configurations in the droplets. The pseudopeptidic bottlebrush polymers with an aromatic (phenyl) and aliphatic appendages are synthesized using ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). Polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) samples are prepared by employing pseudopeptidic bottlebrush polymers and 4-cyano-4′-pentylbiphenyl (5CB) LC via solvent-induced phase separation (SIPS) technique. Due to π–π stacking, the phenyl group favours radial configuration, whereas the repulsion between 5CB and aliphatic groups induces molecular alignment leading to bipolar droplet arrangement. The impact of various pendant groups attached to the polymer on the prepared PDLC sample's surface characteristics and free energy components is illustrated. The sensing capability of 5CB dispersed in pseudopeptidic bottlebrush polymers for various pH solutions is investigated using polarizing optical microscopy (POM). The PDLC samples are moderately permeable to water and sensitive to different pH solutions. The results demonstrate a simplified and straightforward approach for preparing LC-based biosensors and chemical sensors.

Graphical abstract: Liquid crystal droplet design by using pseudopeptidic bottlebrush polymer additives

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
17 Jul 2022
Accepted
19 Sep 2022
First published
19 Sep 2022

Soft Matter, 2022,18, 7838-7849

Liquid crystal droplet design by using pseudopeptidic bottlebrush polymer additives

A. Kumari, H. Singh, S. Dhawan, S. K. Bhardwaj, V. Haridas and A. Sinha, Soft Matter, 2022, 18, 7838 DOI: 10.1039/D2SM00953F

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