DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Dynamically morphing microchannels in liquid crystal elastomer coatings containing disclinations

Abstract

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 simulationsmore » 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.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [2];  [1];  [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent, OH (United States); Kent State Univ., Kent, OH (United States)
  2. Kent State Univ., Kent, OH (United States)
  3. Univ. of Akron, OH (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Kent State Univ., Kent, OH (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Science Foundation (NSF)
OSTI Identifier:
1822204
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1712790; OSTI ID: 1897127
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0019105
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Applied Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 128; Journal Issue: 18; Journal ID: ISSN 0021-8979
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; Microchannel; Elastic modulus; Soft matter; Finite-element analysis; Linear elasticity; Plasmonics; Liquid crystals; Spin coating; Crystallographic defects; Polymers

Citation Formats

Babakhanova, Greta, Golestani, Youssef M., Baza, Hend, Afghah, Sajedeh, Yu, Hao, Varga, Michael, Wei, Qi-Huo, Shiller, Paul, Selinger, Jonathan V., Selinger, Robin L. B., and Lavrentovich, Oleg D. Dynamically morphing microchannels in liquid crystal elastomer coatings containing disclinations. United States: N. p., 2020. Web. doi:10.1063/5.0022193.
Babakhanova, Greta, Golestani, Youssef M., Baza, Hend, Afghah, Sajedeh, Yu, Hao, Varga, Michael, Wei, Qi-Huo, Shiller, Paul, Selinger, Jonathan V., Selinger, Robin L. B., & Lavrentovich, Oleg D. Dynamically morphing microchannels in liquid crystal elastomer coatings containing disclinations. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0022193
Babakhanova, Greta, Golestani, Youssef M., Baza, Hend, Afghah, Sajedeh, Yu, Hao, Varga, Michael, Wei, Qi-Huo, Shiller, Paul, Selinger, Jonathan V., Selinger, Robin L. B., and Lavrentovich, Oleg D. Thu . "Dynamically morphing microchannels in liquid crystal elastomer coatings containing disclinations". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0022193. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1822204.
@article{osti_1822204,
title = {Dynamically morphing microchannels in liquid crystal elastomer coatings containing disclinations},
author = {Babakhanova, Greta and Golestani, Youssef M. and Baza, Hend and Afghah, Sajedeh and Yu, Hao and Varga, Michael and Wei, Qi-Huo and Shiller, Paul and Selinger, Jonathan V. and Selinger, Robin L. B. and Lavrentovich, Oleg D.},
abstractNote = {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.},
doi = {10.1063/5.0022193},
journal = {Journal of Applied Physics},
number = 18,
volume = 128,
place = {United States},
year = {2020},
month = {11}
}

Works referenced in this record:

Controlled Placement of Microparticles at the Water–Liquid Crystal Elastomer Interface
journal, March 2019

  • Babakhanova, Greta; Yu, Hao; Chaganava, Irakli
  • ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Vol. 11, Issue 16
  • DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b22023

On a consistent finite-strain plate model of nematic liquid crystal elastomers
journal, December 2020


Tunable wrinkling of thin nematic liquid crystal elastomer sheets
journal, August 2019


A plate theory for nematic liquid crystalline solids
journal, November 2020


Humidity-Responsive Liquid Crystalline Polymer Actuators with an Asymmetry in the Molecular Trigger That Bend, Fold, and Curl
journal, July 2014

  • de Haan, Laurens T.; Verjans, Julien M. N.; Broer, Dirk J.
  • Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 136, Issue 30
  • DOI: 10.1021/ja505475x

Microstructure-enabled control of wrinkling in nematic elastomer sheets
journal, May 2017


Emergent Surface Topography Enabled by Concurrent Crystallization and Polymerization
journal, March 2020


Recent developments in bio-inspired special wettability
journal, January 2010

  • Liu, Kesong; Yao, Xi; Jiang, Lei
  • Chemical Society Reviews, Vol. 39, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1039/b917112f

Advances in Cell Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering: The Value of Liquid Crystalline Elastomers
journal, May 2018

  • Martella, Daniele; Parmeggiani, Camilla
  • Chemistry - A European Journal, Vol. 24, Issue 47
  • DOI: 10.1002/chem.201800477

Surface structures of hybrid aligned liquid crystal network coatings containing reverse tilt domain
conference, March 2019

  • Lavrentovich, Oleg D.; Schenning, Albert P.; Broer, Dirk L.
  • Emerging Liquid Crystal Technologies XIV
  • DOI: 10.1117/12.2515507

Liquid crystal elastomer coatings with programmed response of surface profile
journal, January 2018


Artificial web of disclination lines in nematic liquid crystals
journal, August 2017


Voxelated liquid crystal elastomers
journal, February 2015


Shape control of surface-stabilized disclination loops in nematic liquid crystals
journal, February 2018


Encoding Gaussian curvature in glassy and elastomeric liquid crystal solids
journal, May 2016

  • Mostajeran, Cyrus; Warner, Mark; Ware, Taylor H.
  • Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 472, Issue 2189
  • DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2016.0112

Fluorescence confocal polarizing microscopy: Three-dimensional imaging of the director
journal, August 2003


Correction: Cholesteric liquid crystals in rectangular microchannels: skyrmions and stripes
journal, January 2016

  • Guo, Yubing; Afghah, Sajedeh; Xiang, Jie
  • Soft Matter, Vol. 12, Issue 30
  • DOI: 10.1039/C6SM90119K

Curvature in nematic elastica responding to light and heat
journal, April 2010

  • Warner, M.; Modes, C. D.; Corbett, D.
  • Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 466, Issue 2122
  • DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2010.0135

Humidity-Responsive Bilayer Actuators Based on a Liquid-Crystalline Polymer Network
journal, May 2013

  • Dai, Mian; Picot, Olivier T.; Verjans, Julien M. N.
  • ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Vol. 5, Issue 11
  • DOI: 10.1021/am400681z

High-Resolution and High-Throughput Plasmonic Photopatterning of Complex Molecular Orientations in Liquid Crystals
journal, January 2016


Cell alignment by smectic liquid crystal elastomer coatings with nanogrooves
journal, May 2020

  • Babakhanova, Greta; Krieger, Jess; Li, Bing‐Xiang
  • Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, Vol. 108, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.36896

A multifunctional shape-morphing elastomer with liquid metal inclusions
journal, October 2019

  • Ford, Michael J.; Ambulo, Cedric P.; Kent, Teresa A.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 116, Issue 43
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1911021116

Topology control of human fibroblast cells monolayer by liquid crystal elastomer
journal, May 2020

  • Turiv, Taras; Krieger, Jess; Babakhanova, Greta
  • Science Advances, Vol. 6, Issue 20
  • DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz6485

Light-Responsive Hierarchically Structured Liquid Crystal Polymer Networks for Harnessing Cell Adhesion and Migration
journal, May 2017

  • Koçer, Gülistan; ter Schiphorst, Jeroen; Hendrikx, Matthew
  • Advanced Materials, Vol. 29, Issue 27
  • DOI: 10.1002/adma.201606407

Wrinkling of a thin film on a nematic liquid-crystal elastomer
journal, July 2016


Programmable and adaptive mechanics with liquid crystal polymer networks and elastomers
journal, October 2015

  • White, Timothy J.; Broer, Dirk J.
  • Nature Materials, Vol. 14, Issue 11
  • DOI: 10.1038/nmat4433

Topography from Topology: Photoinduced Surface Features Generated in Liquid Crystal Polymer Networks
journal, July 2013

  • McConney, Michael E.; Martinez, Angel; Tondiglia, Vincent P.
  • Advanced Materials, Vol. 25, Issue 41
  • DOI: 10.1002/adma.201301891

Unravelling humidity-gated, temperature responsive bilayer actuators
journal, January 2020

  • Verpaalen, Rob C. P.; Souren, Anne E. J.; Debije, Michael G.
  • Soft Matter, Vol. 16, Issue 11
  • DOI: 10.1039/D0SM00030B

Oscillating Chiral-Nematic Fingerprints Wipe Away Dust
journal, January 2018


Smart biomimetic micro/nanostructures based on liquid crystal elastomers and networks
journal, January 2017

  • Shahsavan, Hamed; Yu, Li; Jákli, Antal
  • Soft Matter, Vol. 13, Issue 44
  • DOI: 10.1039/C7SM01466J

Universal inverse design of surfaces with thin nematic elastomer sheets
journal, June 2018

  • Aharoni, Hillel; Xia, Yu; Zhang, Xinyue
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 115, Issue 28
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1804702115

Temperature Dependence of Visco-Elastic Properties of 5CB
journal, August 1999

  • Cui, M.; Kelly, J. R.
  • Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals Science and Technology. Section A. Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, Vol. 331, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1080/10587259908047499

Nanoid Canyons On-Demand: Electrically Switchable Surface Topography in Liquid Crystal Networks
journal, October 2018

  • Akinoglu, Eser Metin; de Haan, Laurens Theobald; Li, Songru
  • ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Vol. 10, Issue 43
  • DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b15203

Three-dimensional imaging of orientational order by fluorescence confocal polarizing microscopy
journal, March 2001


Making waves in a photoactive polymer film
journal, June 2017

  • Gelebart, Anne Helene; Jan Mulder, Dirk; Varga, Michael
  • Nature, Vol. 546, Issue 7660
  • DOI: 10.1038/nature22987

Interpretation of saddle-splay and the Oseen-Frank free energy in liquid crystals
journal, July 2018


Patterns in thin Liquid Crystal Films and the Divergence (“Surfacelike”) Elasticity
journal, August 1995

  • Lavrentovich, O. D.; Pergamenshchik, V. M.
  • International Journal of Modern Physics B, Vol. 09, Issue 18n19
  • DOI: 10.1142/S0217979295000926

Liquid Crystal Elastomers with Mechanical Properties of a Muscle
journal, August 2001

  • Thomsen, Donald L.; Keller, Patrick; Naciri, Jawad
  • Macromolecules, Vol. 34, Issue 17
  • DOI: 10.1021/ma001639q

Liquid crystal polymer networks: switchable surface topographies
journal, June 2013


Molecular alignment, large surface deformations and hysteresis effects in polydomain LC polymer films under an in-plane DC electric field
journal, November 2018


Responsive, 3D Electronics Enabled by Liquid Crystal Elastomer Substrates
journal, May 2019

  • Kim, Hyun; Gibson, John; Maeng, Jimin
  • ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Vol. 11, Issue 21
  • DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b04189

Stimuli-responsive surfaces for bio-applications
journal, January 2008

  • Mendes, Paula M.
  • Chemical Society Reviews, Vol. 37, Issue 11
  • DOI: 10.1039/b714635n

An Artificial Nocturnal Flower via Humidity-Gated Photoactuation in Liquid Crystal Networks
journal, November 2018