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Micellar Lyotropic Nematic Gels
Author(s) -
Dieterich Sonja,
Stemmler Friedrich,
Preisig Natalie,
Giesselmann Frank
Publication year - 2021
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.202007340
Subject(s) - liquid crystal , lyotropic , lyotropic liquid crystal , materials science , lamellar structure , phase (matter) , amphiphile , micelle , self healing hydrogels , chemical engineering , micellar solutions , organic chemistry , polymer chemistry , liquid crystalline , polymer , composite material , aqueous solution , chemistry , copolymer , optoelectronics , engineering
Lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC) gels are a new class of liquid crystal (LC) networks that combine the anisotropy of micellar LLCs with the mechanical stability of a gel. However, so far, only micellar LLC gels with lamellar and hexagonal structures have been obtained by the addition of gelators to LLCs. Here, the first examples of lyotropic nematic gels are presented. The key to obtain these nematic gels is the use of gelators that have a non‐amphiphilic molecular structure and thus leave the size and shape of the micellar aggregates essentially unchanged. By adding these gelators to lyotropic nematic phases, an easy and reproducible way to obtain large amounts of lyotropic nematic gels is established. These nematic gels preserve the long‐range orientational order and optical birefringence of a lyotropic nematic phase but have the mechanical stability of a gel. LLC nematic gels are promising new materials for elastic and anisotropic hydrogels to be applied as water‐based stimuli‐responsive actuators and sensors.