Field-response of polymer microemulsions based on reactive mesogens

Understanding molecular rearrangement of liquid crystals (LC) in microemulsions and manipulating their topology with external stimuli offer significant advantages for applications like sensors, displays, and smart windows. We fabricated monodisperse LC and reactive mesogen (RM)-LC microemulsions using porous glass membrane emulsification and investigated their topological transitions under electric fields. LC microemulsions retained their bipolar axes while responding to electric fields, whereas RM-LC microemulsions displayed a distinct response, where the polymer network rotated due to interfacial anchoring strength with field-responsive LCs, despite the polymer network's minimal dielectric anisotropy. These detailed findings on the RM-LC response highlight the role of interfacial interactions in structural transitions, facilitating the design of optimized topologies for low-power, high-performance optical devices.