Precursor particle for forming liquid crystal alignment layer, liquid crystal display panel, and method of manufacturing the liquid crystal display panel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10126599-B2
Application number	US-201514661974-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 18, 2015
Priority date	Dec 2, 2014
Publication date	Nov 13, 2018
Grant date	Nov 13, 2018

Abstract

A liquid crystal device that includes two substrates that face each other, a liquid crystal cell interposed between the two substrates, and a liquid crystal alignment layer interposed between the liquid crystal cell and at least one of the two substrates, the liquid crystal alignment layer includes a plurality of spherical or spherical-like core particles having a diameter of 10 nm to 1 μm.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, comprising:
an upper substrate facing a lower substrate;
a liquid crystal cell arranged between the upper substrate and the lower substrate, the liquid crystal cell comprising liquid crystals;
an electric field generating electrode disposed between the liquid crystal cell and at least one of the upper substrate and the lower substrate; and
a liquid crystal alignment layer arranged between the liquid crystal cell and the electric field generating electrode,
wherein the liquid crystal alignment layer is vertically aligning and consists essentially of:
a plurality of spherical or spherical-like core particles having a diameter of 10 nm to 1 μm, each being represented by formula (1) below,
P—X—R,  (1)

wherein P is the spherical or spherical-like core particle having a surface introduced with at least one electron pair donor, X is at least one linker, and R is a C 3 -C 30 saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon bonded to the core particle by the linker, and
a photopolymerization functional group that is polymerized by light and is bonded to the C 3 -C 30 saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon,
wherein the plurality of core particles are disposed directly on and adhered without an intervening layer to the electric field generating electrode, and
wherein the photopolymerization functional group is configured to stabilize an alignment of the liquid crystals by pretilting the liquid crystals.

2. The LCD panel of claim 1 , wherein the core particles each have a diameter of 10 to 500 nm.

3. The LCD panel of claim 2 , wherein the core particles each have a diameter of 10 to 200 nm.

4. The LCD panel of claim 1 , wherein the core particles are comprised of one of an inorganic oxide and an organic polymer compound.

5. The LCD panel of claim 4 , wherein the inorganic oxide is comprised of one of silicon oxide, silica and aluminum oxide, and the organic polymer compound is comprised of one of polystyrene, polymethyl methacrylate, and polyacrylate.

6. The LCD panel of claim 1 , wherein the electron-pair donor is comprised of at least one functional group selected from a group consisting of hydroxyl group (—OH), an amine group (—N, —NH, —NH 2 ), a thiol group (—SH), an aldehyde group (—COH), and a carboxyl group (—COOH).

7. The LCD panel of claim 1 , wherein the photopolymerization functional group is comprised of a functional group selected from a group consisting of an acryl group, a methacryl group, a cinnamate group, a cinnamamide group, a maleimide group, a coumarin group, an ene group (—C═C—), a diene group, a thiol-ene group, a chalcone group, and combinations of the same.

8. The LCD panel of claim 1 , wherein the at least one linker is selected from a group consisting of Si, —C═O—, —COO—, —(SO 2 )—, —O(SO 2 )—, —O(SO 2 )O—, —(P═O)O 2 — and —O(P═O)O 2 —.

9. The LCD panel of claim 1 , wherein the photopolymerization functional group is selected from a group consisting of an acryl group, a methacryl group, a cinnamate group, a coumarin group, a vinyl group, a thiol group, an ene group, a diene group, a thiol-ene group, an acetylene group, an acryloxy group, a methacryloxy group, and combinations of the same.

10. A method of manufacturing an LCD panel, comprising:
placing an upper substrate and a lower substrate to face each other;
forming a liquid crystal composition that includes a plurality of liquid crystals and a plurality of precursor particles represented by formula (1) below,
P—X—R,  (1)

wherein P is a spherical or spherical-like core particle having a diameter of 10 nm to 1μm and having a surface introduced with at least one electron pair donor selected from a group consisting of a hydroxyl group (—OH), an amine group (—N, —NH, —NH 2 ), a thiol group (—SH), an aldehyde group (—COH) and a carboxyl group (—COOH), X being at least one linker selected from a group consisting of Si, —C═O—, —COO—, —(SO 2 )—, —O(SO 2 )—, —O(SO 2 )O—, —(P═O)O 2 — and —O(P═O)O 2 —, and R being a saturated or an unsaturated hydrocarbon including 3 to 30 carbon atoms;
injecting the liquid crystal composition between the upper and the lower substrates;
irradiating the liquid crystal composition with ultraviolet radiation while applying an electric field to the liquid crystal composition after the injecting, and
hence forming a liquid crystal cell comprising liquid crystals arranged between the upper substrate and the lower substrate, and a vertically aligning liquid crystal alignment layer consisting essentially of the plurality of spherical or spherical-like core particles disposed directly on, and adhered without an intervening layer to an electric field generating electrode disposed between the liquid crystal cell and at least one of the upper substrate and the lower substrate,
wherein the (R) saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon including 3 to 30 carbon atoms is substituted by a photopolymerization functional group which is configured to stabilize an alignment of the liquid crystals by pretilting the liquid crystals.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the photopolymerization functional group is selected from a group consisting of an acryl group, a methacryl group, a cinnamate group, a coumarin group, a vinyl group, a thiol group, an ene group, a diene group, a thiol-ene group, an acetylene group, an acryloxy group, a methacryloxy group, and combinations of the same.

Assignees

• Samsung Display Co Ltd
• Nat Univ Chonbuk Ind Coop Found

Inventors

• Kang Shin Woong
• Jeong Kwang Un
• Ahn Byung Wook
• Oh Keun Chan
• Lee Chang Hun

Classifications

• C09K19/56

  Aligning agents · CPC title

• G02F1/133711 Primary

  by organic films, e.g. polymeric films · CPC title

• Y10T428/1005

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• G02F1/133788

  by light irradiation, e.g. linearly polarised light photo-polymerisation · CPC title

• C09K19/52

  characterised by components which are not liquid crystals, e.g. additives {with special physical aspect: solvents, solid particles} · CPC title