Fig. 3: Cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) shells polymerized at temperatures of different alignment. | Nature Communications

Fig. 3: Cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) shells polymerized at temperatures of different alignment.

From: Tunable templating of photonic microparticles via liquid crystal order-guided adsorption of amphiphilic polymers in emulsions

Fig. 3

a–c Transmission POM images (polariser orientations indicated in a) of a CLC shell produced with a 6 wt.% HDDA mixture as it is heated from room temperature to 52 °C. UV light is applied to the shell at 47. 4 °C for 180 s, initiating polymerization. The heating rate was separated in four ranges: 5 °C/min for 25 − 45 °C, 0. 3 °C/min for 45−47 °C, 0. 1 °C/min for 47−48 °C, and 1 °C/min for 48−52 °C. The focus is at the equator of the shell in a and at the bottom surface in b and c. The polymerized FCD CSRs in d, e are imaged after coating with gold in transmission without analyzer (polarizer orientation in d). Scale bar: 50 μm. f–k SEM images of two gold-coated CSRs, with 9% (f–h) and 10% (i–k) HDDA, respectively. Both were polymerized at room temperature, yielding tangential boundary conditions for the former and hybrid for the latter. Images (f/i), (g/j), and (h/k), respectively, are obtained on the outer, inner and cross section surfaces of each CSR. Scale bar on images (f, g) and (i, j) is 50 μm, and on images (h/k) 10 μm.

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