Gevorgyan, G.S., Sargsyan, M.L., Hakobyan, M.R. et al. (3 more authors) (2025) Elastic Characterization of Acrylate-based Liquid Crystal Elastomers. Polymers, 17 (5). 614. ISSN 2073-4360
Abstract
Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are innovative materials best known for their reversible shape and optical property changes in response to external stimuli such as heat, light, and mechanical forces. These unique features position them as promising candidates for applications in emerging technologies. The determination of the mechanical properties of these materials is important for the study of the interaction between orientational and mechanical deformations of LCEs. Importantly, thoroughly characterizing the mechanical and elastic properties of LCEs is essential for their efficient design and integration into various devices. In this study, a full elastic characterization of promising acrylate-based LCE materials that are auxetic above a material-dependent strain threshold (~0.4 for the material studied here) was carried out. Highly aligned macroscopic samples were fabricated, allowing us to determine, for the first time, the five elasticity coefficients that enter into the elastic-free energy density of acrylate-based LCE materials, as well as the Young’s moduli and Poisson ratios. Our approach involves connecting measured strains with elasticity coefficients and using data obtained from three tensile experiments. Specifically, the measured Young’s moduli are on the order of MPa, with an anisotropy ratio (E‖/E⊥) of ~4.5. Moreover, the longitudinal Poisson ratios are both close to 0.5, confirming a uniaxial elastic response at low strains in these LCE samples. These findings align with theoretical predictions, indicating a good correspondence between experimental results and established theories.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | liquid crystal elastomers; elastic anisotropy; mechanical deformation; elastic constants |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Physics and Astronomy (Leeds) > Soft Matter Physics (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) EP/R511717/1 EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) EP/V054724/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 24 Feb 2025 09:27 |
Last Modified: | 06 Mar 2025 09:38 |
Published Version: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/17/5/614 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/polym17050614 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:223674 |
Download
Filename: Elastic Characterization of Acrylate-Based Liquid Crystal Elastomers.pdf
Licence: CC-BY 4.0