2024 AIChE Annual Meeting
Cholesteric Liquid Crystalline Elastomers: Tunable Light Filters for Infrared Applications
Within various industries such as automotive, aerospace, and wearable technology, the demand for soft optical materials continues to rise for functions like tunable filters, sensing, and light modulation. Cholesteric liquid crystalline elastomers (CLCEs) are a unique class of soft optical materials that self organize into a helicoidal structure. The periodicity of the refractive index across the thickness of the material causes the elastomer to exhibit selective reflection. This study focuses on fabricating stretchable, adjustable light filters that selectively reflect light within the mid-wave and short-wave infrared spectrum. We will delve into how the elastomer's optical and material characteristics enable control over reflection tunability and polarization, along with the ability to switch optical properties in response to mechanical and electrical stimuli.