Switchable alignment layer for liquid crystal displays capture

A display cell of the subject technology includes two electrodes electrically coupled with a voltage supply, two alignment layers formed over surfaces of the two electrodes, and a liquid crystal (LC) material layer embedded between the two alignment layers. The alignment layers includes grooves and molecules of the LC material layer that are enabled to align along the grooves when no voltage is applied to the two electrodes. The two alignment layers include a polymer formed with a combination of an electron-donor monomer and an electron-acceptor monomer.