| abstract |
A composite material (22) having droplets (24) of a liquid crystal material in a matrix (26) of a copolymer of a multifunctional acrylate, or a mixture of different multifunctional acrylates, and a multifunctional mercaptan is prepared by photopolymerization. The liquid crystal material is initially mixed with a multifunctional acrylate monomer, a multifunctional mercaptan, and a photoinitiator to form a solution. The solution is exposed to ultraviolet light, whereupon the multifunctional acrylate monomer and multifunctional mercaptan copolymerize in a step reaction, and the liquid crystal separates from the copolymer as droplets dispersed throughout the copolymer matrix (26). The resulting material is placed between transparent, electrically conducting plates to form an electro-optic display device. |