Dynamically morphing microchannels in liquid crystal elastomer coatings containing disclinations
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- Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent, OH (United States); Kent State Univ., Kent, OH (United States); Kent State University, Kent, Ohio
- Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent, OH (United States); Kent State Univ., Kent, OH (United States)
- Kent State Univ., Kent, OH (United States)
- Univ. of Akron, OH (United States)
Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) hold a major promise as a versatile material platform for smart soft coatings, since their orientational order can be predesigned to program a desired dynamic profile. In this work, we introduce temperature-responsive dynamic coatings based on LCEs with arrays of singular defects-disclinations that run parallel to the surface. The disclinations form in response to antagonistic patterns of the molecular orientation at the top and bottom surfaces, imposed by the plasmonic mask photoalignment. Upon heating, an initially flat LCE coating develops linear microchannels located above each disclination. The stimulus that causes a non-flat profile of LCE coatings upon heating is the activation force induced by the gradients of molecular orientation around disclinations. To describe the formation of microchannels and their thermal response, we adopt a Frank-Oseen model of disclinations in patterned director field and propose a linear elasticity theory to connect the complex spatially-varying molecular orientation to the displacements of the LCE. The thermo-responsive surface profiles predicted by the theory and by the finite element modeling are in good agreement with the experimental data; in particular, higher gradients of molecular orientation produce a stronger modulation of the coating profile. The elastic theory and the finite element simulations allow us to estimate the material parameter that characterizes the elastomer coating’s response to the thermal activation. The disclinations containing LCEs show potential as soft dynamic coatings with a predesigned responsive surface profile.
- Research Organization:
- Kent State Univ., Kent, OH (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0019105
- OSTI ID:
- 1822204
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1712790; OSTI ID: 1897127
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Applied Physics Journal Issue: 18 Vol. 128; ISSN 0021-8979
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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