Programming liquid crystal elastomers for multistep ambidirectional deformability

Yao, Yuxing; Wilborn, Atalaya Milan; Lemaire, Baptiste; Trigka, Foteini; Stricker, Friedrich; Weible, Alan H.; Li, Shucong; Bennett, Robert A.; Cheung, Tung Chun; Grinthal, Alison; Zhernenkov, Mikhail; Freychet, Guillaume; Wąsik, Patryk; Kozinsky, Boris; Lerch, Michael M.; Wang, Xiaoguang; Aizenberg, Joanna

doi:10.1126/science.adq6434

Title: Programming liquid crystal elastomers for multistep ambidirectional deformability

Journal Article · 05 December 2024 · Science

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq6434 · OSTI ID:2481339

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Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States); Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (Hong Kong)
Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States)
Univ. of Groningen (Netherlands)
The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States)
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)
Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States); Bosch Research, Watertown, MA (United States)
Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States); Univ. of Groningen (Netherlands)
Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States); The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States)

Ambidirectionality, which is the ability of structural elements to move beyond a reference state in two opposite directions, is common in nature. However, conventional soft materials are typically limited to a single, unidirectional deformation unless complex hybrid constructs are used. We exploited the combination of mesogen self-assembly, polymer chain elasticity, and polymerization-induced stress to design liquid crystalline elastomers that exhibit two mesophases: chevron smectic C (cSmC) and smectic A (SmA). Inducing the cSmC-SmA–isotropic phase transition led to an unusual inversion of the strain field in the microstructure, resulting in opposite deformation modes (e.g., consecutive shrinkage or expansion and right-handed or left-handed twisting and tilting in opposite directions) and high-frequency nonmonotonic oscillations. Further, this ambidirectional movement is scalable and can be used to generate Gaussian transformations at the macroscale.

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Research Organization:: Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0005247; SC0012704

OSTI ID:: 2481339

Report Number(s):: BNL--226403-2024-JAAM

Journal Information:: Science, Journal Name: Science Journal Issue: 6726 Vol. 386; ISSN 0036-8075

Publisher:: AAASCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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