An Electrochemical Cholesteric Liquid Crystalline Device for Quick and Low-Voltage Color Modulation

We demonstrate a method for fabricating a prototype reflective display device that contains cholesteric liquid crystal (LC) as an active component. The cholesteric LC is composed of a nematic LC 4'-pentyloxy-4-cyanobiphenyl (5OCB), redox-responsive chiral dopant (^FcD), and a supporting electrolyte 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate (EMIm-OTf). The most important component is ^FcD. This molecule changes its helical twisting power (HTP) value in response to redox reactions. Therefore, in situ electrochemical redox reactions in the LC mixture allow for the device to change its reflection color in response to electrical stimuli. The LC mixture was introduced, by a capillary action, into a sandwich-type ITO glass cell comprising two glass slides with patterned indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes, one of which was coated with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-co-poly(ethylene glycol) doped with perchlorate (PEDOT⁺). Upon application of +1.5 V, the reflection color of the device changed from blue (467 nm) to green (485 nm) in 0.4 s. Subsequent application of 0 V made the device recover the original blue color in 2.7 s. This device is characterized by its fastest electrical response and lowest operating voltage among any previously reported cholesteric LC device. This device could pave the way for the development of next generation reflective displays with low energy consumption rates.