Programmable Complex Shape Changing of Polysiloxane Main-Chain Liquid Crystalline Elastomers
Yuhe Zhang,
Xiuxiu Wang,
Wenlong Yang,
Huixuan Yan,
Xinyu Zhang,
Dongxu Han,
Yifan He,
Chensha Li,
Liguo Sun
Affiliations
Yuhe Zhang
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Xiuxiu Wang
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Wenlong Yang
Department of Applied Science, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150080, China
Huixuan Yan
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Xinyu Zhang
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Dongxu Han
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Yifan He
Institute of Regulatory Science, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China
Chensha Li
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Liguo Sun
Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering Process and Technology for High-Efficiency Conversion School of Chemistry and Material Science, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are shape-morphing materials whose large and reversible shape transformations are caused by the coupling between the mobile anisotropic properties of liquid crystal (LC) units and the rubber elastic of polymer networks. Their shape-changing behaviors under certain stimuli are largely directed by the LC orientation; therefore, various strategies have been developed to spatially modulate the LC alignments. However, most of these methods are limited as they require complex fabrication technologies or have intrinsic limitations in applicability. To address this issue, programmable complex shape changes in some LCE types, such as polysiloxane side-chain LCEs, thiol-acrylate main-chain LCEs, etc., were achieved by using a mechanical alignment programming process coupled with two-step crosslinking. Here, we report a polysiloxane main-chain LCE with programmable 2- and 3D shape-changing abilities that were created by mechanically programming the polydomain LCE with two crosslinking steps. The resulting LCEs exhibited a reversible thermal-induced shape transformation between the initial and programmed shapes due to the two-way memory between the first and second network structures. Our findings expand on the applications of LCE materials in actuators, soft robotics, and smart structures where arbitrary and easily programmed shape morphing is needed.
