Real-Time Alignment and Reorientation of Polymer Chains in Liquid Crystal Elastomers

Luo, Chaoqian; Chung, Christopher; Yakacki, Christopher M.; Long, Kevin; Yu, Kai

doi:10.1021/acsami.1c20082

Title: Real-Time Alignment and Reorientation of Polymer Chains in Liquid Crystal Elastomers

Journal Article · 21 December 2021 · ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c20082 · OSTI ID:1838186

Luo, Chaoqian ^[1]; Chung, Christopher ^[1]; Yakacki, Christopher M. ^[1]; Long, Kevin ^[2];

^[1]

Univ. of Colorado, Denver, CO (United States)
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) exhibit soft elasticity due to the alignment and reorientation of mesogens upon mechanical loading, which provides additional mechanisms to absorb and dissipate energy. This enhanced response makes LCEs potentially transformative materials for biomedical devices, tissue replacements, and protective equipment. However, there is a critical knowledge gap in understanding the highly rate-dependent dissipative behaviors of LCEs due to the lack of real-time characterization techniques that probe the microscale network structure and link it to the mechanical deformation of LCEs. In this work, we employ in situ optical measurements to evaluate the alignment and reorientation degree of mesogens in LCEs. The data are correlated to the quantitative physical analysis using polarized Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The time scale of mesogen alignment is determined at different strain levels and loading rates. The mesogen reorientation kinetics is characterized to establish its relationship with the macroscale tensile strain, and compared to theoretical predictions. Overall, this work provides the first detailed study on the time-dependent evolution of mesogen alignment and reorientation in deformed LCEs. It also provides an effective and more accessible approach for other researchers to investigate the structural-property relationships of different types of polymers.

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Research Organization:: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0003525

OSTI ID:: 1838186

Report Number(s):: SAND2021-15896J; 702353

Journal Information:: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Journal Name: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 14; ISSN 1944-8244

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy
liquid crystal elastomer
mesogen alignment
polarized optimal measurements
real-time characterization
reorientation

Title: Real-Time Alignment and Reorientation of Polymer Chains in Liquid Crystal Elastomers

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