Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA.
Soft Matter. 2019 Jan 30;15(5):870-879. doi: 10.1039/c8sm02174k.
Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are shape morphing materials promising for many applications including soft robotics, actuators, and biomedical devices, but current LCE synthesis techniques lack a simple method to program new and arbitrary shape changes. Here, we demonstrate a straightforward method to directly program complex, reversible, non-planar shape changes in nematic LCEs. We utilize a double network synthesis process that results in a competitive double network LCE. By optimizing the crosslink densities of the first and second network we can mechanically program non-planar shapes with strains between 4-100%. This enables us to directly program LCEs using mechanical deformations that impart low or high strains in the LCE including stamping, curling, stretching and embossing methods. The resulting LCEs reversibly shape-shift between the initial and programmed shape. This work widens the potential application of LCEs in biomedical devices, soft-robotics and micro-fluidics where arbitrary and easily programmed shapes are needed.
液晶弹性体（LCEs）是一种形状变形材料，在软机器人、执行器和生物医学设备等许多应用中具有广阔的应用前景，但目前的 LCE 合成技术缺乏一种简单的方法来编程新的和任意的形状变化。在这里，我们展示了一种直接在向列相 LCE 中编程复杂、可逆、非平面形状变化的简单方法。我们利用双网络合成工艺得到了具有竞争性质的双网络 LCE。通过优化第一和第二网络的交联密度，我们可以用 4-100%的应变机械地编程非平面形状。这使我们能够使用机械变形直接对 LCE 进行编程，这些机械变形在 LCE 中施加低或高应变，包括冲压、卷曲、拉伸和压花方法。所得的 LCE 可以在初始形状和编程形状之间可逆地进行形状转换。这项工作拓宽了 LCE 在生物医学设备、软机器人和微流控等领域的潜在应用，这些领域需要任意和易于编程的形状。
