Curable Composition for Lightweight Optical Substrates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional display substrates made of glass or plastic face challenges in achieving a balance between high refractive index, strength, hardness, and weight, with glass being dense and heavy while plastic struggles to achieve high refractive index.
Innovation Solution
A curable composition comprising an episulfide compound and aromatic heterocyclic compounds, which are polymerized to form a cured product with high sulfur content, offering excellent mechanical and optical properties, including a refractive index of 1.650 or more and high transmittance, while being lighter than glass.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If glass materials are used for display substrates, then high hardness and scratch-prevention properties are achieved, but weight increases and strength decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the chemical composition parameters by incorporating sulfur atoms (30-70 wt%) and specific heteroatoms into the polymer backbone, transforming the material from conventional plastic to a high-performance polysulfide heteropolymer that achieves glass-like hardness while maintaining plastic's weight advantage
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite polymer system combining polysulfide backbone with heteroatom-containing monomers (Formula 1 and Formula 2), achieving synergistic effects that simultaneously improve hardness, strength, and optical properties while keeping the material lightweight
2Weight of moving object
If plastic materials are used for display substrates, then weight is reduced and strength increases, but refractive index decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the optical parameters by incorporating high refractive index elements (sulfur with 2.6 atomic refraction, and heteroatoms like nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine) into the polymer structure, achieving refractive index of 1.650 or more while maintaining the lightweight plastic characteristic
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces local heteroatom-containing functional groups (Formula 1 and Formula 2) into the polymer chain at specific positions, creating local regions of high refractive index that elevate the overall optical properties without compromising the bulk material's lightweight nature
3Duration of action of stationary object
If glass materials are used for display substrates, then high refractive index is achieved, but density and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention substitutes the dense glass material system with a lightweight polymer system that uses chemical composition (sulfur and heteroatoms) to achieve high refractive index, replacing the mechanical density-based approach with a chemical composition-based approach
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The resulting optical element exhibits high refractive index, high transmittance, and low haze, making it suitable as a lightweight substitute for glass substrates in display devices with enhanced mechanical properties.
Implementation Method 1
A curable composition comprising an episulfide compound and aromatic heterocyclic compounds, which are polymerized to form a cured product
Data Source
AI summary
A curable composition and an optical element including a cured product thereof. The curable composition includes an episulfide compound and an aromatic heterocyclic compound.