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Liquid Crystalline Elastomers as Actuators and Sensors
Author(s) -
Ohm Christian,
Brehmer Martin,
Zentel Rudolf
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.200904059
Subject(s) - materials science , liquid crystalline , elastomer , usable , actuator , polymer , nanotechnology , mechanical engineering , polymer science , composite material , computer science , electrical engineering , engineering , world wide web
This review collects recent developments in the field of liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) with an emphasis on their use for actuator and sensor applications. Several synthetic pathways leading to crosslinked liquid crystalline polymers are discussed and how these materials can be oriented into liquid crystalline monodomains are described. By comparing the actuating properties of different systems, general structure–property relationships for LCEs are obtained. In the final section, how these materials can be turned into usable devices using different interdisciplinary techniques are described.