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Updated: Jan 26, 2026

Microfluidic Preparation of Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Actuators
Published on: May 20, 2018
Liquid crystalline microspheres of azobenzene amphiphiles formed by thermally induced pH changes in binary
Tejwant Singh Kang1, Masa-Aki Morikawa, Nobuo Kimizuka
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. n-kimi@mail.cstm.kyushu-u.ac.jp.
Abstract:
Anionic azobenzene-containing bilayered membranes dispersed in binary water-ionic liquid (IL) media undergo proton-responsive transformation into liquid crystalline microspheres (LCMs). This transformation was induced by protons released by the heat-induced hydrolysis of tetrafluoroborate ions in the ILs. This work demonstrates the first beneficial use of hydrolysis-susceptible ILs in chemistry.
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