Photo-Crosslinked Side-Chain Liquid-Crystalline Elastomers for Microsystems

Photo-crosslinkable side-chain liquid-crystalline polymers (LCPs) containing photoreactive benzophenone cores are synthesized in order to obtain their corresponding side-chain liquid-crystalline elastomers (LCEs). This strategic synthesis allows thin elastomeric films and their integration into microsystems for actuators and micromachines to be obtained. As an example of this principle, a gripper was developed. The position of its arms can be changed by applying voltages from 1.5 to 3.5 V at different rates. Small changes in the liquid-crystalline elastomer film cause strains of up to 150% in the microdevice and the capacity to move up to 400 times its own mass due to the nematic-to-isotropic transformation.