Electric switching of visible and infrared transmission using liquid crystals co-doped with plasmonic gold nanorods and dichroic dyes
Smart windows and many other applications require synchronous or alternating facile electric switching of transmitted light intensity in visible and near infrared spectral ranges, but most electrochromic devices suffer from slow, nonuniform switching, high power consumption and limited options for designing spectral characteristics. Here we develop a guest-host mesostructured composite with rod-like dye molecules and plasmonic nanorods spontaneously aligned either parallel or orthogonally to the director of the liquid crystal host. This composite material enables fast, low-voltage electric switching of electromagnetic radiation in visible and infrared ranges, which can be customized depending on the needs of applications, like climate-dependent optimal solar gain control in smart windows.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0010305
- OSTI ID:
- 1464334
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1502491
- Journal Information:
- Optics Express, Journal Name: Optics Express Vol. 26 Journal Issue: 17; ISSN 1094-4087
- Publisher:
- Optical Society of America (OSA)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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