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Imine-Based Reactive Mesogen and Its Corresponding Exchangeable Liquid Crystal Elastomer.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Lin, Xueyan 
Gablier, Alexandra 
Terentjev, Eugene M  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3517-6578

Abstract

To date, exchangeable liquid crystalline elastomers (xLCEs) have been mainly fabricated by combining conventional LCEs with additional exchangeable functional groups in their networks. While conventional LCEs are frequently made from commercially available aromatic-ester reacting mesogens or from mesogens based on a biphenyl core, such reacting monomers are not optimized to fabricating xLCEs whose bond-exchange reaction is fast and clean cut. Here, we develop a fast synthesis route to produce a new type of reactive mesogen based on an aromatic-imine structure that intrinsically enables a fast and stable bond-exchange reaction in the resulting imine-based xLCE. This new xLCE displays vitrimer plastic-flow behavior, and its bond-exchange activation energy is calculated to be 54 kJ/mol. We also demonstrate that this xLCE is thermally stable to withstand many recycling cycles without visible decay, and its liquid crystallinity is preserved. Finally, we demonstrate the reprogramming and realignment of the mesogen orientation in this xLCE with the realigned xLCE capable of reversible thermal actuation.

Description

Keywords

3405 Organic Chemistry, 34 Chemical Sciences

Journal Title

Macromolecules

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0024-9297
1520-5835

Volume Title

55

Publisher

American Chemical Society (ACS)
Sponsorship
European Research Council (786659)
ERC H2020 AdG 786659