Direct preparation of nematic liquid crystalline elastomer actuators by electron beam irradiation polymerization

Qian, Qiang; Chen, Jie; Li, Min-Hui; Keller, Patrick; He, Dan

doi:10.1039/c1jm13658e

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…P-VC4 ( n = 3) has a T g of ∼ 26 ° C, much lower than that of P-A444, T g of ∼ 50 ° C (Supporting Information Figure S3), indicating that P-VC4 ( n = 3) possesses a relatively fl exible polymer backbone. [ 12,13 ]…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microstructured Nematic Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Surfaces with Switchable Wetting Properties

Buguin

Yang

et al. 2013

Adv Funct Materials

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Inspired by the lotus leaf, scientists have developed many superhydrophobic surfaces, some of which show remarkable switching between hydrophobic and hydrophilic state under external stimuli. However, the switch usually relies on the change of chemical properties rather than on the modification of the topographic structure of the surface. In this paper, the roughness‐change‐related switchable wetting properties of microstructured responsive surfaces made of nematic liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) is reported. First, various carbonate LC monomers and side‐on LCEs are synthesized with low nematic‐to‐isotropic transition temperature, TNI. Then, LCEs prepared from 3″‐vinylcarbonyloxypropyl 2,5‐di(4′‐octyloxybenzoyloxy)benzoate monomer, with TNI of 76 °C and contraction of 34% are used to construct a surface covered with micropillar arrays by using a replica molding technique. The contraction of the micropillars induces a reversible roughness change of the microstructured surface. Water contact angle of this microstructured surface changed with temperature, indicating a successful approach at building a surface with switchable wetting properties.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microstructured Nematic Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Surfaces with Switchable Wetting Properties

Buguin

Yang

et al. 2013

Adv Funct Materials

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“…[74] EB could also be used for the polymerization of monomers and crosslinkers that are aligned with external fields, such as a magnetic field. [75] Crosslinking in CLCPs is usually achieved by covalent bonds, thus producing insoluble samples. Crosslinking with noncovalent bonds enables a better processing of CLCPs.…”

Section: Development Of Fabrication Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photomobile Polymer Materials with Crosslinked Liquid‐Crystalline Structures: Molecular Design, Fabrication, and Functions

2014

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Crosslinked liquid-crystalline polymer materials that macroscopically deform when irradiated with light have been extensively studied in the past decade because of their potential in various applications, such as microactuators and microfluidic devices. The basic motions of these materials are contraction-expansion and bending-unbending, which are observed mainly in polysiloxanes and polyacrylates that contain photochromic moieties. Other sophisticated motions such as twisting, oscillation, rotation, and translational motion have also been achieved. In recent years, efforts have been made to improve the photoresponsive and mechanical properties of this novel class of materials through the modification of molecular structures, development of new fabrication methods, and construction of composite structures. Herein, we review structures, functions, and working mechanisms of photomobile materials and recent advances in this field.

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“…Being combined with different alignment procedures such as magnetic alignment, [ 8,28 ] surface patterning technology, [ 29,30 ] microfluidic alignment, [ 12 ] and microchannel alignment, [ 31,32 ] photopolymerization has contributed widely to the development of the LCEs, especially those with sophisticated 3D shape deformations. More recently, another radiation‐induced polymerization, electron‐beam polymerization, [ 33,34 ] has also been used to prepare LCEs.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma‐Induced Polymerizations: A New Synthetic Entry in Liquid Crystal Elastomer Actuators

Zhang

Guyon

et al. 2020

Macromol. Rapid Commun.

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The research on soft actuators including liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) becomes more and more appealing at a time when the expansion of artificial systems is blooming. Among the various LCE actuators, the bending deformation is often in the origin of many actuation modes. Here, a new strategy with plasma technology is developed to prepare single‐layer main‐chain LCEs with thermally actuated bending and contraction deformations. Two distinct reactions, plasma polymerization and plasma‐induced photopolymerization, are used to polymerize in one step the nematic monomer mixture aligned by magnetic field. The plasma polymerization forms cross‐linked but disoriented structures at the surface of the LCE film, while the plasma‐induced photopolymerization produces aligned LCE structure in the bulk. The actuation behaviors (bending and/or contraction) of LCE films can be adjusted by plasma power, reaction time, and sample thickness. Soft robots like crawling walker and flower mimic are built by LCE films with bending actuation.

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Direct preparation of nematic liquid crystalline elastomer actuators by electron beam irradiation polymerization

Cited by 14 publications

References 22 publications

Microstructured Nematic Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Surfaces with Switchable Wetting Properties

Microstructured Nematic Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Surfaces with Switchable Wetting Properties

Photomobile Polymer Materials with Crosslinked Liquid‐Crystalline Structures: Molecular Design, Fabrication, and Functions

Plasma‐Induced Polymerizations: A New Synthetic Entry in Liquid Crystal Elastomer Actuators

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