In Situ Reinforcing Elastomer Composite Based on Polyolefinic Thermoplastic Elastomer and Thermotropic Liquid Crystalline Polymer

n liquid crystalline elastomer materials

Liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) exhibit a number of remarkable physical effects, including the unique, high-stroke reversible mechanical actuation when triggered by external stimuli. This article reviews some recent exciting developments in the field of LCE materials with an emphasis on their utilization in actuator applications. Such applications include artificial muscles, industrial man...

Nanoparticle-Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Composites

Liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) exhibit a number of remarkable physical effects, including a uniquely high-stroke reversible mechanical actuation triggered by external stimuli. Fundamentally, all such stimuli affect the degree of liquid crystalline order in the polymer chains cross-linked into an elastic network. Heat and the resulting thermal actuation act by promoting entropic disorder, ...

Thermotropic Liquid Crystalline Polymer Fibers

Super-strength, lightweight materials used in bullet-proof vests, high-performance cables and tires, and stealth airplanes are built from liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) bers. The remarkable strength properties are dominated by molecular alignment achieved as a result of the complex interactions at play in ber processes. The ber manufacturing process begins with a high temperature liquid phase...

Electrospun Composite Liquid Crystal Elastomer Fibers

We present a robust method to prepare thin oriented nematic liquid crystalline elastomer-polymer (LCE-polymer) core-sheath fibers. An electrospinning setup is utilized to spin a single solution of photo-crosslinkable low molecular weight reactive mesogens and a support polymer to form the coaxial LCE-polymer fibers, where the support polymer forms the sheath via in situ phase separation as the ...

Thermal and Morphological Properties of Thermoplastic Elastomer Nanocomposites Based on PA6/NBR