Influence of Comesogens on the Thermal and Actuation Properties of 2‐ tert‐ Butyl‐1,4‐bis[4‐(4‐pentenyloxy)benzoyl]hydroquinone Based Nematic Main‐Chain Liquid Crystalline Elastomers

Although the shape‐changing capabilities of LCEs hold great potential for applications ranging from micropumps to artificial muscles, customization of the LCE functionality to the applications' requirements is still a challenge. It is studied whether the orientation of NMC‐LCPs and NMC‐LCEs based on 2‐ tert‐ butyl‐1,4‐bis[4‐(4‐pentenyloxy)benzoyl]hydroquinone can be enhanced by copolymerization with 2‐methyl‐1,4‐bis[4‐(4‐pentenyloxy)benzoyl]hydroquinone or 2,6‐bis[4‐(4‐pentenyl‐oxy)‐benzoyl]anthracene. An increasing content of the comonomers stabilizes the nematic phase, which enables a tailoring of T NI for the NMC‐LCP between 45 and 68 °C, while for the NMC‐LCE T NI ranges between 69 and 76 °C. In addition, NMC‐LCE show an increased actuation performance.