Internal constraints and arrested relaxation in main-chain nematic elastomers

被引:0
|
作者
Takuya Ohzono
Kaoru Katoh
Hiroyuki Minamikawa
Mohand O. Saed
Eugene M. Terentjev
机构
[1] National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST),Research Institute for Electronics and Photonics
[2] Biomedical Research Institute,Cavendish Laboratory
[3] AIST,undefined
[4] Research Institute for Sustainable Chemistry,undefined
[5] AIST,undefined
[6] University of Cambridge,undefined
来源
Nature Communications | / 12卷
关键词
D O I
暂无
中图分类号
学科分类号
摘要
Nematic liquid crystal elastomers (N-LCE) exhibit intriguing mechanical properties, such as reversible actuation and soft elasticity, which manifests as a wide plateau of low nearly-constant stress upon stretching. N-LCE also have a characteristically slow stress relaxation, which sometimes prevents their shape recovery. To understand how the inherent nematic order retards and arrests the equilibration, here we examine hysteretic stress-strain characteristics in a series of specifically designed main-chain N-LCE, investigating both macroscopic mechanical properties and the microscopic nematic director distribution under applied strains. The hysteretic features are attributed to the dynamics of thermodynamically unfavoured hairpins, the sharp folds on anisotropic polymer strands, the creation and transition of which are restricted by the nematic order. These findings provide a new avenue for tuning the hysteretic nature of N-LCE at both macro- and microscopic levels via different designs of polymer networks, toward materials with highly nonlinear mechanical properties and shape-memory applications.
引用
收藏
相关论文
共 50 条
  • [1] Internal constraints and arrested relaxation in main-chain nematic elastomers
    Ohzono, Takuya
    Katoh, Kaoru
    Minamikawa, Hiroyuki
    Saed, Mohand O.
    Terentjev, Eugene M.
    NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 2021, 12 (01)
  • [2] Nematic main-chain elastomers: Coupling and orientational behavior
    Krause, Simon
    Zander, Frank
    Bergmann, Gerd
    Brandt, Holger
    Wertmer, Hendrik
    Finkelmann, Heino
    COMPTES RENDUS CHIMIE, 2009, 12 (1-2) : 85 - 104
  • [3] Thermomechanical properties of monodomain nematic main-chain liquid crystal elastomers
    Merkel, Daniel R.
    Traugutt, Nicholas A.
    Visvanathan, Rayshan
    Yakacki, Christopher M.
    Frick, Carl P.
    SOFT MATTER, 2018, 14 (29) : 6024 - 6036
  • [4] Main-Chain Nematic Side-Chain Smectic Composite Liquid Crystalline Elastomers
    Guo, Hongye
    Saed, Mohand O.
    Terentjev, Eugene M.
    ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, 2023, 33 (17)
  • [5] Reviewing the Mechanisms That Affect the Critical Behaviour of Nematic Side-Chain and Main-Chain Elastomers
    Rozic, Brigita
    Cordoyiannis, George
    Krause, Simon
    Finkelmann, Heino
    Kutnjak, Zdravko
    MOLECULAR CRYSTALS AND LIQUID CRYSTALS, 2011, 547 : 91 - 96
  • [6] Microscopy of Diffuse Nematic-Isotropic Transition in Main-Chain Nematic Liquid-Crystal Elastomers
    Ohzono, Takuya
    Katoh, Kaoru
    Terentjev, Eugene M.
    MACROMOLECULES, 2021, 54 (08) : 3678 - 3688
  • [7] Coupling between viscoelasticity and soft elasticity in main-chain nematic Liquid Crystal Elastomers
    Rezaei, L.
    Scalet, G.
    Peigney, M.
    Azoug, A.
    JOURNAL OF THE MECHANICS AND PHYSICS OF SOLIDS, 2024, 187
  • [8] Liquid-crystalline main-chain elastomers
    Bergmann, GHF
    Finkelmann, H
    Percec, V
    Zhao, MY
    MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS, 1997, 18 (05) : 353 - 360
  • [9] CHAIN CONFORMATION OF THERMOTROPIC NEMATIC MAIN-CHAIN POLYESTERS
    BRULET, A
    LI, MH
    KELLER, P
    COTTON, JP
    ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, 1994, 208 : 162 - PMSE
  • [10] Main-chain Chiral Liquid Crystal Elastomers
    Ma Jiazhe
    Yang Yanzhao
    Wang Ling
    Feng Wei
    ACTA PHOTONICA SINICA, 2022, 51 (07)