Controlled Diels–Alder “Click” Strategy to Access Mechanically Aligned Main‐Chain Liquid Crystal Networks
Abstract
Aligned liquid crystal polymers are materials of interest for electronic, optic, biological and soft robotic applications. The manufacturing and processing of these materials have been widely explored with mechanical alignment establishing itself as a preferred method due to its ease of use and widespread applicability. However, the fundamental chemistry behind the required two‐step polymerization for mechanical alignment has limitations in both fabrication and substrate compatibility. In this work we introduce a new protection‐deprotection approach utilizing a two‐stage Diels–Alder cyclopentadiene‐maleimide step‐growth polymerization to enable mild yet efficient, fast, controlled, reproducible and user‐friendly polymerizations, broadening the scope of liquid crystal systems. Thorough characterization of the films by DSC, DMA, POM and WAXD show the successful synthesis of a uniaxially aligned liquid crystal network with thermomechanical actuation abilities.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2022
- Source ID
- 10.1002/ange.202214339
Entities
People
- Alexa S Kuenstler
- Friedrich Stricker
- Javier Read de Alaniz
- Jesus Guillen Campos
- Kyle D. Clark
- Minwook Park
- Ryan C Hayward
- Sophia J. Bailey
Organizations
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- National Science Foundation Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences
- Office of Naval Research
- University of California
- University of Colorado Boulder