Polymerization in nematic emulsions

This letter deals with a procedure to obtain polymer-dispersed liquid-cryst al films by photopolymerization of nematic emulsions. The major advantage o f such a procedure is that homogeneously micron-sized liquid-crystal drople ts in an organic monomer matrix can be obtained before polymerization takes place. The electro-optical changes induced in nematic emulsions by the pol ymerization of the fluid matrix are reported. The effects due to the applic ation of an external field during the polymerization process on the resulti ng films are also discussed. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0003 -6951(99)04618-5].