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Stimulus–Responsive Nematic Gels
Author(s) -
Urayama Kenji
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
macromolecular symposia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.257
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-3900
pISSN - 1022-1360
DOI - 10.1002/masy.201050511
Subject(s) - liquid crystal , elastomer , birefringence , materials science , anisotropy , elongation , swelling , composite material , optics , optoelectronics , physics , ultimate tensile strength
Nematic elastomers exhibit a rich variety of stimulus–response behaviors owing to their hybrid characters of liquid crystals and elastomers. The nematic elastomers swollen by low molecular mass liquid crystals show anisotropic swelling, and their volume and shape significantly depend on temperature. The swollen nematic elastomers exhibit macroscopic deformation together with a large change in optical birefringence in fast response to electric fields (electro–opto–mechanical effect). The mechanical stretching of the nematic elastomers normal to the initial director drives the director realignment along the elongation axis.