Flexible and Transferable Silver Nanowire Liquid Crystal Polymer Film Obtained via Photo-Alignment Programming

The self-assembly of silver nanowires (AgNWs) with a high aspect ratio is highly desirable for practical applications; however, several challenges still exist. Herein, a non-contact, simple, large-scale, micro-domain photo-alignment technology is proposed to align AgNWs in a liquid crystal polymer (LCP) film, resulting in a high order parameter (above 0.9). The AgNWs are precisely controlled to have planar alignment and twisted nematic structures in micro-multi-domains. The AgNW/LCP precursor is frozen to shape the film via ultraviolet crosslinking, allowing it to be easily peeled off and transferred to various flexible and other functional substrates. The aligned AgNWs can be used to improve the mechanical properties of LCP films, as they exhibit high elongation-at-break and high strength-at-break. The AgNW/LCP film can also be further programmed by micro-multi-domain photo-alignment for use in flexible and wearable devices.

Automated summary

A micro-domain photo-alignment technology is proposed to align silver nanowires (AgNWs) in a liquid crystal polymer (LCP) film, resulting in high order parameter. The aligned AgNWs can be easily transferred to flexible and functional substrates to improve the mechanical properties of LCP films.