A smectic main-chain liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE), with controlled shape memory behavior, is synthesized by polymerizing a biphenyl-based epoxy monomer with an aliphatic carboxylic acid curing agent. Microstructures of the LCEs, including their liquid crystallinity and crosslinking density, are modified by adjusting the stoichiometric ratio of the reactants to tailor the thermomechanical properties and shape memory behavior of the material. Thermal and liquid crystalline properties of the LCEs, characterized using differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis, and structural analysis, performed using small-angle and wide-angle X-ray scattering, show that liquid crystallinity, cross-linking density, and network rigidity are strongly affected by the stoichiometry of the curing reaction. With appropriate structural modifications it is possible to tune the thermal, dynamic mechanical, and thermomechanical properties as well as the shape memory and thermal degradation behavior of LCEs.
■ INTRODUCTIONShape memory polymers (SMP) are a category of smart materials that are able to return to their original shape from a deformed state when exposed to external stimuli. SMPs generally consist of cross-linked polymer networks, which determine the permanent shape of the material, and switching segments, which can be oriented and solidified to fix a temporary shape. 1 The shape recovery is driven by the entropic force of the switching domains which tend to gain entropy and return to a random conformation when undergoing phase transitions, such as glass transition, liquid crystalline (LC) transition, and melting transition. 2,3 Liquid crystalline elastomers (LCE) represent a special class of SMPs that are defined by a reversible LC phase transition and a unique coupling between LC mesogens and polymer networks. They exhibit reversible shape change when exposed to external stimuli, such as heat, 4 light, 5−8 or magnetic field, 9,10 which makes them excellent candidates for artificial muscles, sensors, lithography substrates, and shape memory materials. 11−16 A number of LCEs with different LC phases and network structures have been synthesized and characterized, including nematic main-chain, 17−19 smectic main-chain, 20,21 nematic sidechain, 22,23 and smectic side-chain LCEs. 24−26 These materials exhibit a wide variety of shape memory and actuating behaviors. However, in spite of their promising properties and remarkable potential, practical applications of LCEs are limited because of the difficulties encountered when tailoring thermal transition temperatures and thermomechanical properties of the materials for end-use applications. Several methods have been proposed to prepare LCEs with tunable shape memory properties. A smectic main-chain LCE has been designed and synthesized through copolymerization of two benzoate-based vinyl monomers with different LC phase transition temperatures. 27 It has been shown that both LC transition and thermomechanical properties of LCEs could be tailored by changing the ...