Abstract
In order to improve the mechanical and self-healing properties of particle/liquid-crystal (LC) composites, we incorporated polymer chains into the composites by using polymer-brush-afforded silica particles (P-SiPs) as a particle component. The composites consisting of P-SiPs and a nematic liquid crystal (5CB) showed high strength and shape recoverability due to the elasticity derived from rubbery polymer chains. A small dent made on the composite surface could be spontaneously repaired at room temperature. Moreover the composites consisting of P-SiPs and photoresponsive 5CB (P-5CB) where 5CB contains a small amount of an azobenzene derivative, exhibited gel-sol transition by the photochemical phase transition of P-5CB. Using the photoinduced gel-sol transition, we achieved the light-mediated mending of a surface crack as well as the spontaneous repairing of a surface dent on the composite gels.
