Responsive Liquid Crystal Polymer Networks & Hydogels (**joint talk with I-CAMP)

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• Broer, D (Eindhoven University of Technology)
• Friday 28 June 2013, 14:00-14:45
• Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Meeting Room 2.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Almarie Williams.

This talk has been canceled/deleted

In-situ photopolymerization of liquid crystalline (LC) monomers has proven to be a valuable technique for the formation of well-ordered polymer networks. Their anisotropic properties led to a variety of applications in optics, electronics and mechanics. The use of light to initiate polymerization enables lithographic approaches for patterning. The LC behaviour enables formation of complex morphologies on molecular level. Controlling the director profile of an LC network film in transversal direction gives geometrical morphing upon minor changes in order parameter. Examples of suited profiles of molecular orientation are twisted or splayed director configurations tied up in the polymer network. Reversible order parameter changes can be induced by a variety of means. It can be simply induced by temperature changes resulting in gradients in thermal expansion over the cross-section of the film. But more sophisticated and of interest for applications is a light induced change as a result of the E-Z isomerization of a built-in azo group. When the LC polymer networks are confined in the x-y plane of the film, e.g. by strong adhesion to a high modulus substrate, deformation takes place into the third dimension forming surface topographies.

Rather than composing the netyworks of covalent bonds alone, one can chose to replace some bonds by secondary interactions such as hydrogen bridges, thus providing responsive molecularly organized hydrogels. We applied the H-bridge based dimerization of benzoic acid to form nematic LC acrylate monomers. By a controlled and reversible rupture of the H-bridges mechanical responses can be initiated. Photopolymerization of smectic LC monomers lock in structures of different length scales. The first length scale is the resolution of lithography, and goes down to a few micrometers. The second length scale is set by the spacing of smectic layers and is typically a few nanometers. The third length scale is the intermolecular distance in the layers, usually around 1 nm or below. By modifying smectic molecules with H-bridges the smectic periodicity can break-up into separated layers with a well-defined spacing, also in the nanometer range. The nanopores form by breaking the H-bridges at elevated temperatures or by contact with an alkaline solution. The integrity of the film is maintained by copolymerizing with fully covalent smectic crosslinkers. By making this crosslinker photosensitive the pore size can be regulated by UV light.

This talk is part of the Isaac Newton Institute Seminar Series series.

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