Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 26, 2026

Microfluidic Preparation of Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Actuators
Published on: May 20, 2018
Microfluidic Synthesis of Actuating Microparticles from a Thiol-Ene Based Main-Chain Liquid Crystalline Elastomer
Tristan Hessberger1, Lukas Braun2, Rudolf Zentel3
1Department of Organic Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Duesbergweg 10-14, 55099 Mainz, Germany. hessberger@uni-mainz.de.
Abstract:
In this article the microfluidic synthesis of strongly actuating particles on the basis of a liquid crystalline main-chain elastomer is presented. The synthesis is carried out in a capillary-based co-flow microreactor by photo-initiated thiol-ene click chemistry of a liquid crystalline monomer mixture. These microparticles exhibit a deformation from a spherical to a rod-like shape during the thermal-initiated phase transition of the liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE) at which the particles' aspect ratio is almost doubled. Repeated contraction cycles confirm the complete reversibility of the particles' actuation properties. The transition temperature of the LCE, the temperature range of the actuation process as well as the magnitude of the particles' aspect ratio change are studied and controlled by the systematic variation of the liquid crystalline crosslinker content in the monomer mixture. Especially the variable actuation properties of these stimuli-responsive microparticles enable the possibility of an application as soft actuators or sensors.
Related Concept Videos
Preparation and Reactions of Thiols
Dehydration Synthesis
Dehydration synthesis (also called a condensation reaction) is the chemical process in which two molecules covalently link together to form a new molecule, along with the release of a water molecule. Many physiologically important compounds form by dehydration synthesis reactions, such as complex carbohydrates, proteins, DNA, and RNA.
Synthesis of carbohydrates
Sugar molecules are covalently linked together by dehydration synthesis. During the reaction, the hydroxyl (-OH) group from...
Polymer Classification: Crystallinity
Crystalline domains are the regions where polymer chains are aligned in an orderly manner and held together in proximity by intermolecular forces. For example, chains in the crystalline domains of polyethylene and nylon are bound together by van der Waals...
Structure and Nomenclature of Thiols and Sulfides
Electron Transport Chains
The ETC is comprised of...
Radical Chain-Growth Polymerization: Chain Branching

