Ink-jet printable compositions including nanoparticles capped with a protective layer of hydrocarbon chains and a single solvent exhibiting a single evaporation rate and having a specifically defined viscosity and surface tension that result in uniform and printable alignment layers for liquid crystal materials. Patterned liquid crystal-containing cells are also disclosed including one or more layers including the same or different nanoparticles capped with a protective layer of hydrocarbon chains printed on a surface of a substrate or even another nanoparticle-containing layer. Methods for producing the cells are also disclosed, including the step of printing a pattern on one or more portions of a cell surface utilizing a composition comprising the capped nanoparticles. Devices including the cells are also disclosed.

A compact camera module that contains a generally planar base on which is mounted a lens barrel is provided. The base, barrel, or both are molded from a polymer composition that includes a thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer and a plurality of mineral fibers (also known as whisker). The mineral fibers have a median width of from about 1 to about 35 micrometers and constitute from about 5 wt. % to about 60 wt. % of the polymer composition.

Solid foam structures having multiple compartments comprising mesogenic ligand-functionalized nanoparticles are provided. Compositions that include these structures, as well as methods of making the structures are also provided. The structures, compositions and methods find use in a variety of applications, such as, photonics, luminescent coatings and multi-compartment encapsulation technologies.

In various embodiments magnetically actuated liquid crystals are provided as well as method of manufacturing such, methods of using the liquid crystals and devices incorporating the liquid crystals. In one non-limiting embodiment the liquid crystals comprise Fe.sub.3O.sub.4 nanorods where the nanorods are coated with a silica coating.

The present disclosure provides an enhanced wavelength converting structure. The enhanced wavelength converting structure includes a first crosslinked cholesteric liquid crystal layer and a plurality of first quantum dots dispersed in the first crosslinked cholesteric liquid crystal layer. When a first light is incident into the enhanced wavelength converting structure, the plurality of first quantum dots are excited and emit a second light of a wavelength different from a wavelength of the first light, and the second light is toned up via multiple reflections in the first crosslinked cholesteric liquid crystal layer. The present disclosure further provides a luminescent film and a display backlighting unit.

A black liquid-crystal polymer film that contains a black pigment and a liquid crystal polymer and the black liquid-crystal polymer film has a lightness of 45 or less, a dielectric loss tangent of 0.0035 or less, a minimum dielectric breakdown strength of 60 kV/mm or more, and a maximum-to-minimum ratio of in-plane thermal linear expansion coefficient in the range of 1.0 to 2.5.

A method for fabricating micro-cell structures is provided and has providing a liquid crystal mixture; performing a heating step on the liquid crystal mixture at a temperature ranging from 45 C. to 150 C., performing a heat induced phase separation step on the liquid crystal mixture at a thermal phase separation temperature for a thermal phase separation titre such that the liquid crystal mixture forms liquid crystal particles and a network light-curing adhesive, wherein the thermal phase separation temperature and the thermal phase separation time are determined by a changing rate of a bright area ratio of the liquid crystal mixture; and performing a photo-curing step on the liquid crystal mixture by emitting an ultraviolet light so that a plurality of micro-cell structures are formed. The micro-cell structures with different transparency are fabricated based on different values of the thermal phase separation temperature and the thermal phase separation time.

The present invention relates to a temperature-controlled dimming film with a function of shielding near-infrared light, which comprises a polymer network skeleton and liquid crystal molecules, wherein the polymer network skeleton consists of a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal network structure and a polymer-stabilized liquid crystal network structure and comprises a polymer matrix with pores inside which polymer networks are vertically aligned; and the liquid crystal molecules are dispersed in the polymer network skeleton and have smectic (SmA)-cholesteric (N*) phase transition. Between the skeleton and the liquid crystal molecules, nanoparticles, having absorption at 800-3000 nm, are dispersed. In the invention, a stepwise polymerization method is utilized to construct a PD&SLC network structure between two substrates, which greatly improve the bonding strength between the two substrates and the heat insulation performance of the temperature-controlled liquid crystal dimming film.

A shape-programmable liquid crystal elastomer. The elastomer comprising cross-linked and polymerized nematic, isotropic monomers with carbon nanotubes that are organized into a plurality of voxels. Each voxel has a director orientation such that each voxel of the plurality has a first state according to the director orientation and a second state according to cross-linkages of the polymerized nematic monomers. The elastomer transitions between the first and second states with exposure to an electric field.

A compact camera module that contains a generally planar base on which is mounted a lens barrel is provided. The base, barrel, or both are molded from a polymer composition that includes a thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer and a plurality of mineral fibers (also known as whisker). The mineral fibers have a median width of from about 1 to about 35 micrometers and constitute from about 5 wt. % to about 60 wt. % of the polymer composition.