| 초록 |
Macroscopically-aligned liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE) monoliths can exhibit reversible and complex shape changes triggered by external stimuli such as heat, light and chemical exposure. Such shape transformations at the macro- and microscale level are enabled by molecular alignment of LCEs. Here, we explore different alignment methods including surface and mechanical alignment as well as imprinting process and demonstrate various 3D shape changing behaviors of LCEs at the macro- and microscale upon heating. Interestingly, the thermal actuation temperature of the LCEs was significantly altered depending on the alignment methods employed, even with the LCEs containing the same type of alignment. Such difference is probably associated with different order parameter in the initial LCEs. We envision that our facile shape programming methods with tailored properties may facilitate potential applications of the LCEs in soft robot and haptic devices. |
