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Updated: Dec 26, 2025

Preparation of Monodomain Liquid Crystal Elastomers and Liquid Crystal Elastomer Nanocomposites
Published on: February 6, 2016
A Review on Liquid Crystal Polymers in Free-Standing Reversible Shape Memory Materials
Zhibin Wen1, Keke Yang2, Jean-Marie Raquez1
1Laboratory of Polymeric and Composite Materials Center of Innovation and Research in Materials and Polymers, Materia Nova Research Center & University of Mons, 23 Place du Parc, B-7000 Mons, Belgium.
Abstract:
Liquid crystal polymers have attracted massive attention as stimuli-responsive shape memory materials due to their unique reversible large-scale and high-speed actuations. These materials can be utilized to fabricate artificial muscles, sensors, and actuators driven by thermal order-disorder phase transition or trans-cis photoisomerization. This review collects most commonly used liquid crystal monomers and techniques to macroscopically order and align liquid crystal materials (monodomain), highlighting the unique materials on the thermal and photo responsive reversible shape memory effects. Challenges and potential future applications are also discussed.
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