RECENT ADVANCE IN LIQUID CRYSTALLINE ELASTOMERS
Dedicated to Professor Dr. Shinzo Yamashita on the occasion of his retirement from Kyoto Institute of Technology
1992 Volume 65 Issue 1 Pages 10-18
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1992 Volume 65 Issue 1 Pages 10-18
This short review describes the most recent advances in the study on liquid crystalline elastomers (LCE). Concise description on liquid cryatals and liquid crystalline polymers is also given. LCE exhibits liquid crystalline state that resembles to its precursor in the uncrosslinked state. Within the mesophase range of temperature, elastic properties of LCE are different from conventional elastomers in the sense that they are energetic in nature. This is due to the partially ordered alignment of the mesogens. It was noted, however, that the optical anisotropy remained even far above clearing temperature (Tc), up to Tc+30°C, if the specimen was under stress. Volume change of LCE with applied field is also interesting. This phenomenon leads to a high tendency of using cholestric or smectic C* LCE as a piezoelectric sensor because of the flexibility and the shape stability.
