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Updated: Feb 22, 2026

Preparation of Monodomain Liquid Crystal Elastomers and Liquid Crystal Elastomer Nanocomposites
Published on: February 6, 2016
Theory of liquid crystal elastomers and polymer networks : Connection between neoclassical theory and differential
Thanh-Son Nguyen1, Jonathan V Selinger2
1Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, 44242, Kent, OH, USA.
Abstract:
In liquid crystal elastomers and polymer networks, the orientational order of liquid crystals is coupled with elastic distortions of crosslinked polymers. Previous theoretical research has described these materials through two different approaches: a neoclassical theory based on the liquid crystal director and the deformation gradient tensor, and a geometric elasticity theory based on the difference between the actual metric tensor and a reference metric. Here, we connect those two approaches using a formalism based on differential geometry. Through this connection, we determine how both the director and the geometry respond to a change of temperature.
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