Microcapsules as an electronic ink to fabricate color electrophoretic displays

An encapsulated color electronic ink prepared by an in situ polymerization utilizing urea/melamine and formaldehyde resin as a wall material is presented. We have investigated the microencapsulation of magenta, yellow, and cyan polymer ball suspensions with white pigment for multi-color electrophoretic display implementation. The charged color pigments have been prepared to have a superior affinity for dielectric fluid by the physical coating of magenta, yellow, and cyan particles with functionalized polymers. TiO2 nanoparticles were modified with poly(methyl methacrylate) copolymer for a microencapsulated electrophoretic display system, in order to reduce the density mismatch between nanoparticles and dielectric medium. The modified pigments were characterized by FTIR spectrometry, scanning electron microscope, and thermogravimetry analysis, respectively. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.