Dye-doped liquid crystals under confinement in microcapsules

Dye-doped liquid crystals (DDLCs) self-assembling into soft spherical microcapsules possess significant applications in the field of flexible displays. However, electrical stimulus response sensitivity was decreased due to anchoring effect of polymer matrix. Herein, dye-doped liquid crystal microcapsules (DDLC-Ms) with different polymer shell materials were prepared by emulsion polymerization. The effects of polymer property on photoelectric property of DDLC-Ms contain that driving voltage, response time, and delay time were studied in particular. Most importantly, DDLC-Ms exhibited a reversible coloured to transparency state driven by an electric field (≥5.4 V), which was lower than human safety voltage. The DDLC-Ms demonstrate intriguing prospects in the fields of reversible sensors and intelligent textile. [Display omitted] •An approach to resolve DDLCs application-related problems were reported.•Interface anchoring effect of DDLC microcapsules were investigated.•The electrochromic fabric coating based on DDLC microcapsules were prepared.•DDLC microcapsules were further applied in intelligent flexible textiles.