Dynamic liquid crystal elastomers (DLCEs) are a class of stimuli-responsive materials characterized by their unique optical and thermomechanical properties. These materials consist of polymer networks whose constituent polymers contain both liquid crystal mesogens and dynamic covalent bonds. When processed in a way that facilitates alignment of the liquid crystal domains, these materials exhibit thermally triggered two-way shape-memory behavior. While the shape memory is inherent to the nematic/isotropic liquid crystal phase transition, the incorporation of dynamic covalent bonds allows for reprocessing of the bulk material as well as provides an additional pathway for stress dissipation. Activation of these dynamic bonds coupled with an external stress allows for explicit programming of these domains to affect a specific shape-memory behavior. To investigate how the properties of these materials could be tailored, the structures of the constituent polymers were systematically varied to determine how best to control these thermomechanical responses through mesogen architecture and non-LC chain extender content. By varying these components, both the temperatures of the glass transition and nematic/isotropic transition can be precisely tuned. Additionally, due to the enhanced network mobility afforded by the activation of the dynamic bond resulting in improved surface wettability, the adhesive character of these materials was also evaluated with respect to material composition and will be discussed.

Structure-property relationships in dynamic liquid crystal elastomers as adaptive adhesives

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ACS Fall 2022

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