Valentina Domenici1,Matej Bobnar2,Nikita Derets2,Georgios Kordogiannis2,Bostjan Zalar2,Andraz Resetic2
University of Pisa1,Jozef Stefan Institute2
Valentina Domenici1,Matej Bobnar2,Nikita Derets2,Georgios Kordogiannis2,Bostjan Zalar2,Andraz Resetic2
University of Pisa1,Jozef Stefan Institute2
Soft-soft composites based on liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) were successfully prepared by optimizing a synthetic procedure were liquid crystalline elastomers in the form of microparticles are dispersed in an amorphous matrix, namely a silicone polymer one. These materials are called Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystalline Elastomers (PDLCEs). The preparation procedure includes several steps in the presence of an external magnetic field with the aim to orient the LCE microparticles along a desired direction [1]. A detailed study based on 2H NMR spectroscopy on PDLCEs prepared under a different magnetic field strength [2] revealed a quite homogeneous distribution of orientation of the microparticles at a magnetic field higher than 4 Tesla. Under these conditions, thermomechanical response of these composites with different actuation geometries is highly correlated to the orientational order distribution of the LCE microparticles. Recently, we demonstrated the shape-programmability of these soft-soft composites prepared with main-chain liquid crystalline elastomers (MC-LCEs) [3]. In particular, PDLCEs based on MC-LCEs enable efficient morphing among the virgin shapes and the thermally-programmed and thermomechanically-controlled shapes. Several examples of shape-memory preparations and applications will be discussed.<br/><br/>Acknowledgments:<br/>This work was performed thanks to the ARRS applied project L1-2607. V. Domenici thanks the MIT-UNIPI project 2022 for partial finantial support.<br/><br/>References:<br/>[1] Resetic et al. Polymer-dispersed liquid crystal elastomer. Nature Communications, 2016, 7, 13140.<br/>[2] Resetic et al. Deuteron NMR investigation on orientational order parameter in polymer dispersed liquid crystal elastomers, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2020, 22, 23064.<br/>[3] Bobnar et al. Polymer-dispersed liquid crystal elastomers as moldable shape-programmable material. Nature Communications, 2023, 14, 764.