Exchangeable Liquid Crystalline Elastomers and Their Applications

This Review presents and discusses the current state of the art in exchangeable liquid crystalline elastomers, that is, LCE materials utilizing dynamically cross-linked networks capable of reprocessing, reprogramming, and recycling. The focus here is on the chemistry and the specific reaction mechanisms that enable the dynamic bond exchange, of which there is a variety. We compare and contrast these different chemical mechanisms and the key properties of their resulting elastomers. In the conclusion, we discuss the most promising applications that are enabled by dynamic cross-linking and present a summary table: a library of currently available materials and their main characteristics.

Automated summary

This paper presents the current state and research progress of exchangeable liquid crystalline elastomers, focusing on the chemistry and mechanisms of dynamic bond exchange. A summary table of currently available materials and their characteristics is provided.