Liquid crystal elastomers (LCE) display extraordinary anisotropic mechanical and thermal properties. The local alignment of LCEs can be spatially patterned in voxels via photoalignment. Here, we report for the first time that the local and hierarchical (through thickness) control of the nematic director can also impart order on carbon nanotubes (CNTs), enabling the spatially designed alignment of a CNT composite. The orientation of the nanotubes was confirmed via Raman spectroscopy, and the alignment of the LCE was confirmed via WAXS and polarized optical microscopy. The oriented CNTs increase the modulus of the film along their orientation direction while still allowing for nonlinear elastic deformations.

Programming the orientation of carbon nanotubes in liquid crystalline elastomers

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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