Enabling liquid crystal elastomers with tunable actuation temperature

Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are promising soft actuator materials. Their actuation temperature is determined by the isotropization temperature (Ti), which is typically difficult to tune after synthesis. This paper demonstrates that incorporating dynamic covalent bonds into LCEs allows for reversible tuning of Ti and thus the actuation temperature via annealing. This approach enables the creation of actuators with various actuation temperatures from a single fully cross-linked LCE material, expanding the applications of LCEs.

Yanjin Yao, Enjian He, Hongtu Xu, Yawen Liu, Zhijun Yang, Yen Wei, Yan Ji