TITLE:
Synthesis and Characterization of Liquid Crystal Elastomer
AUTHORS:
Rita A. Gharde, Santosh A. Mani, Suman Lal, Samriti Khosla, S. K. Tripathi
KEYWORDS:
Liquid Crystal Elastomers (LCEs), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fabry Perot Scattering Studies (FPSS), Thermo gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)
JOURNAL NAME:
Materials Sciences and Applications,
Vol.6 No.6,
June
15,
2015
ABSTRACT: The thermal and mechanical properties of Liquid Crystal Elastomers (LCEs) were characterized
using various techniques for understanding of their physical behavior. The material used for investigation
was synthesized by us, using Finklemann procedure, with proper cross linking density
in nematic phase. The material is found to have unique coupling between anisotropicorder of liquid
crystal component and elasticity of polymer network. The chemical structures were confirmed
by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Fabry
Perot Scattering Studies (FPSS), Thermo gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning
Calorimatory (DSC) were used to study thermal properties. The mechanical properties were studied
using force sensor. Our investigation shows that this synthesized Liquid Crystal Elastomer
has ability of spontaneous change as a function of temperature and mechanical force, which shows
it as a unique class of soft material.