6533b862fe1ef96bd12c60cb

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Elastic Properties of Liquid Crystal Elastomer Balloons

Heidrun SchüringC. TolksdorfRalf StannariusRudolf Zentel

subject

chemistry.chemical_classificationMaterials scienceLiquid crystallinebusiness.industryLight irradiationLiquid crystal elastomerRadiusPolymerCondensed Matter PhysicsElastomerCondensed Matter::Soft Condensed MatterOpticsVolume (thermodynamics)chemistryComposite materialbusinessElastic modulus

description

We introduce a method to measure elastic properties of smectic liquid crystalline elastomers. Freely suspended smectic polymer films containing photoreactive groups are inflated to spherical bubbles and crosslinked by UV light irradiation. After crosslinking, the balloon volume is varied and elastic properties of the material are determined from the relation between radius and inner excess pressure. The influence of the network topology on the elastic behaviour is discussed.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10587250108024999