The future for thermoactive displays?
Hong Kong scientists have created a flexible thermoactive display made of plastic and nanoparticles. According to the developers, the paper-like material is easy to manufacture and is significantly less expensive than conventional liquid crystal displays.
The main problem of LCD screens (liquid crystals plus polymers) is a significant increase in cost as the size of the display increases. The development of scientists from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the creation of which uses "thermochromism" (the property of some materials to change their color with temperature), is cheap and easy to manufacture, which significantly increases its commercial value.
The thickness of the created prototype of the display is only 150 microns. The display itself is a thermochromic composite substrate, with wires integrated into it in the form of a pattern (the “soft lithography” method was used to form the pattern). The wires consist of metal nanoparticles connected by a polymer called polymethylsiloxane (PDMS, polydimethylsiloxane). As the temperature rises to 60 ° C, the composite substrate changes its color from dark green to white. The desired temperature is achieved by applying electricity to the electrodes “soldered” into the substrate. When the temperature drops, the color of the material changes back to the original one.
In addition to the simplicity of producing a thermoactive display of this type, another important advantage is its low power consumption compared to LCD screens and the ability to easily roll it into a tube. The only thing that scientists have so far failed to achieve is a change in the color of individual pixels of such displays. But now, according to Hong Kong researchers, thermochromic displays can be successfully used to create outdoor advertising billboards, e-books and even “smart windows” that will change color (and therefore the room's lighting) just by the flick of a switch.
via NewScientistTech
The main problem of LCD screens (liquid crystals plus polymers) is a significant increase in cost as the size of the display increases. The development of scientists from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the creation of which uses "thermochromism" (the property of some materials to change their color with temperature), is cheap and easy to manufacture, which significantly increases its commercial value.
The thickness of the created prototype of the display is only 150 microns. The display itself is a thermochromic composite substrate, with wires integrated into it in the form of a pattern (the “soft lithography” method was used to form the pattern). The wires consist of metal nanoparticles connected by a polymer called polymethylsiloxane (PDMS, polydimethylsiloxane). As the temperature rises to 60 ° C, the composite substrate changes its color from dark green to white. The desired temperature is achieved by applying electricity to the electrodes “soldered” into the substrate. When the temperature drops, the color of the material changes back to the original one.
In addition to the simplicity of producing a thermoactive display of this type, another important advantage is its low power consumption compared to LCD screens and the ability to easily roll it into a tube. The only thing that scientists have so far failed to achieve is a change in the color of individual pixels of such displays. But now, according to Hong Kong researchers, thermochromic displays can be successfully used to create outdoor advertising billboards, e-books and even “smart windows” that will change color (and therefore the room's lighting) just by the flick of a switch.
via NewScientistTech
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Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/12017/
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