Experimental study on the dynamic mechanical response of a blue light-stimulated acrylate side chain liquid crystal elastomer

Journal article (2024)

Authors

Z. Li Electronic Components, Technology and Materials -

L.F.A. Wymenga Electronic Components, Technology and Materials -

J. Fan Fudan University, Electronic Components, Technology and Materials -

Kouchi Zhang Electronic Components, Technology and Materials -

Research Group

Electronic Components, Technology and Materials () (TU Delft)

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Published Date

2024

Language

English

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Faculty

Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

Department

Microelectronics

Research Group

Electronic Components, Technology and Materials

Abstract

This study demonstrates a breakdown analysis of the dynamics of a liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) including quality check, geometric measurement, thermal characterization, and comparison of heat- and light-induced contractions. A blue light-responsive acrylate side chain LCE with 1% azobenzene dye was characterized. From a classical viewpoint, photo-thermal contraction is considered a dominating effect, while direct photo-mechanical deformation can be neglected due to a low dye percentage. However, the findings of this research suggest that a low percentage of azobenzene dye does not necessarily lead to heat-dominating dynamics of LCE. This phenomenon has not yet been quantitatively studied before. The approach reported in this Letter can potentially be used to extract the data to improve the dynamics models of light-driven LCEs.