Liquid‐Crystalline Elastomers with Gold Nanoparticle Cross‐Linkers

Embedding nanoparticles in a responsive polymer matrix is a formidable way to fabricate hybrid materials with predesigned properties and prospective applications in actuators, mechanically tunable optical elements, and electroclinic films. However, achieving chemical compatibility between nanopartic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemistry : a European journal 2017-07, Vol.23 (37), p.8912-8920
Main Authors: Wójcik, Michał M., Wróbel, Jarosław, Jańczuk, Zuzanna Z., Mieczkowski, Józef, Górecka, Ewa, Choi, Joonmyung, Cho, Maenghyo, Pociecha, Damian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actuators
Chemical compatibility
Chemistry
Cooling
Crosslinking
Crystal structure
Disruption
Elastomers
Embedding
Gold
Heating
liquid crystals
Mechanical properties
Molecular dynamics
Nanoparticles
Optical components
Optical properties
Organic matter
Photonic crystals
Polymers
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Summary:Embedding nanoparticles in a responsive polymer matrix is a formidable way to fabricate hybrid materials with predesigned properties and prospective applications in actuators, mechanically tunable optical elements, and electroclinic films. However, achieving chemical compatibility between nanoparticles and organic matter is not trivial and often results in disordered structures. Herein, it is shown that using nanoparticles as exclusive cross‐linkers in the preparation of liquid‐crystalline polymers can yield long‐range‐ordered liquid‐crystalline elastomers with high loadings of well‐dispersed nanoparticles, as confirmed by small‐angle XRD measurements. Moreover, the strategy of incorporating NPs as cross‐linking units does not result in disruption of mechanical properties of the polymer, and this phenomenon was explained by the means of all‐atom molecular dynamics simulations. Such materials can exhibit switchable behavior under thermal stimulus with stability spanning over multiple heating/cooling cycles. The presented strategy has proven to be a promising approach for the preparation of new types of hybrid liquid‐crystalline elastomers that can be of value for future photonic applications. Enter the matrix: Homogeneous dispersion of metal nanoparticles (NPs) in a polymer matrix was achieved by using nanoparticles as exclusive cross‐linkers in the preparation of liquid‐crystalline elastomers. Chemical bonding of NPs prevented their agglomeration even after multiple temperature cycles through the smectic/liquid phase transition.
ISSN:0947-6539
1521-3765
DOI:10.1002/chem.201700723