6533b86dfe1ef96bd12ca177
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Microfluidic Synthesis of Actuating Microparticles from a Thiol-Ene Based Main-Chain Liquid Crystalline Elastomer.
Rudolf ZentelLukas B. BraunTristan Hessbergersubject
Phase transitionMaterials sciencePolymers and PlasticsCapillary actionMicrofluidicsmicrofluidicsoft actuator02 engineering and technologycontinuous flow synthesis010402 general chemistryElastomer01 natural sciencesArticlestimuli-responsivelcsh:QD241-441Physics::Fluid Dynamicschemistry.chemical_compoundphoto polymerizationlcsh:Organic chemistryLiquid crystalliquid crystalComposite materialmicrofluidic; microparticles; liquid crystal; stimuli-responsive; soft actuator; thiol-ene; liquid crystalline elastomer; photo polymerization; continuous flow synthesismicroparticlesthiol-eneGeneral ChemistryAtmospheric temperature range021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology0104 chemical sciencesCondensed Matter::Soft Condensed MatterMonomerchemistryliquid crystalline elastomerMicroreactor0210 nano-technologydescription
In this article the microfluidic synthesis of strongly actuating particles on the basis of a liquid crystalline main-chain elastomer is presented. The synthesis is carried out in a capillary-based co-flow microreactor by photo-initiated thiol-ene click chemistry of a liquid crystalline monomer mixture. These microparticles exhibit a deformation from a spherical to a rod-like shape during the thermal-initiated phase transition of the liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE) at which the particles’ aspect ratio is almost doubled. Repeated contraction cycles confirm the complete reversibility of the particles’ actuation properties. The transition temperature of the LCE, the temperature range of the actuation process as well as the magnitude of the particles’ aspect ratio change are studied and controlled by the systematic variation of the liquid crystalline crosslinker content in the monomer mixture. Especially the variable actuation properties of these stimuli-responsive microparticles enable the possibility of an application as soft actuators or sensors.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-11-01 | Polymers |