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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Preparation of Monodomain Liquid Crystal Elastomers and Liquid Crystal Elastomer Nanocomposites
Published on: February 6, 2016
Structure and mechanical properties of liquid crystalline filaments
Alexey Eremin1, Alexandru Nemeş, Ralf Stannarius
1Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg, FNW/ IEP/ ANP, Germany.
Abstract:
The formation of stable freely suspended filaments is an interesting peculiarity of some liquid crystal phases. So far, little is known about their structure and stability. Similarly to free-standing smectic films, an internal molecular structure of the mesophase stabilizes these macroscopically well-ordered objects with length to diameter ratios of 10(3) and above. In this paper, we report observations of smectic liquid crystal fibers formed by bent-shaped molecules in different mesophases. Our study, employing several experimental techniques, focuses on mechanical and structural aspects of fiber formation such as internal structure, stability, and mechanical and optical properties.
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