Control of Pretilt Angles on Various Photo-Crosslinkable Polyimide based Polymers by Photodimerization

In this research, we synthesized various photo-crosslinkable polyimide based polymers. The control of pretilt angles for a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) using the photodimerization method on the photopolymers was studied. A good thermal stability of the photopolymers was measured by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) measurement until 450C. High pretilt angles of the NLC were otained by polarized UV exposure on the photopolymers containing biphenyl (BP), decyl (de), and cholesteryl (chal) groups, respectively. However, low pretilt angles of the NLC were measured by polarized UV exposure on the photopolymers containing fluorine and chalcone groups. The high NLC pretilt angles generated are attributable to the biphenyl and alkyl moieties, and the photodimerized chalocone group of the photopolymers. Additionally, good voltage-transmittance and response time characteristics were observed by UV exposure on the photopolymers.