Preparation of thermochromic liquid crystal microcapsules for intelligent functional fiber

Cholesteric liquid crystals microcapsules (CLCM) were prepared via complex coacervation method, which were further used as thermochromic materials in an intelligent functional fiber. The morphology of CLCM with core-shell structure was confirmed by SEM and TEM images. According to the TG results, CLC core took 52 wt% of the microcapsules. Thermochromic property of the CLCM was closely related to its particle size, and CLCM in the range of 3–30 μm had excellent thermochromic property producing color progressively moving from red to blue as the temperature was raised. The CLCM were added to polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) solution and CLCM/PVP fibers were prepared by electrospinning method. The thermochromic performance of CLCM/PVP fibers was in accordance with CLCM, and the optimal particle size of CLCM for preparing CLCM/PVP fibers was 3–10 μm.