Abstract:

In order to explore cholesterol liquid crystal in the application of thermotropic textiles, microcapsules were prepared from melamine-formaldehyde as wall material and  cholesteryl oleyl carbonate and cholesterol pelargonate mixture as core material by in-situ polymerization. The micro morphology, thermal properties and optical properties of the liquid crystal microcapsules were tested. The results show that when the emulsion speed is 6 000r/min, the mass ratio of core to wall is 3：2, and the pH value of the reaction solution is 4.0. The microcapsules have compact shell, spherical shape and smooth surface, particle size about 10μm, and good thermotropic properties. When the temperature raised from 34.4℃ to 38℃, their color showed red, yellow, green, blue purple in turn. The color change temperature is close to human body temperature. It is suitable for the manufacture of thermotropic textiles.

Key words: cholesterol liquid crystal, microcpsules, in-situ polymerization, thermotropic