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Updated: Jul 26, 2025

Microfluidic Preparation of Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Actuators

Microfluidic Preparation of Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Actuators

Published on: May 20, 2018

Enabling liquid crystal elastomers with tunable actuation temperature.

Yanjin Yao¹, Enjian He¹, Hongtu Xu¹

¹The Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.

Nature Communications

|June 14, 2023

Summary

Researchers developed a new method to adjust the actuation temperature of liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE) soft actuators. This breakthrough allows for tunable actuation temperatures from a single LCE material, expanding their use in robotics.

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Last Updated: Jul 26, 2025

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Polymer Chemistry
Soft Robotics

Background:

Liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) are promising soft actuator materials for soft robotics and advanced technologies.
The isotropization temperature (T_i) is critical, dictating actuation temperature and material properties, thus influencing applications.
Traditional methods like annealing cannot permanently tune T_i for LCE actuators, as T_i reverts upon heating above the transition temperature.

Purpose of the Study:

To overcome the limitation of fixed actuation temperatures in fully cross-linked LCEs.
To develop a method for tuning the isotropization temperature (T_i) of LCEs without altering their fundamental chemical structure.
To enable the creation of versatile soft actuators with adjustable actuation temperatures from a single material.

Main Methods:

Utilized covalently adaptable networks, specifically liquid crystalline (LC) vitrimers, which feature dynamic covalent bonds.
Employed annealing to achieve different T_i values within the LC vitrimer network.
Leveraged the reversible nature of dynamic covalent bonds to preserve the altered T_i.

Main Results:

Demonstrated that different T_i values, achieved through annealing, can be permanently preserved in LC vitrimers.
Showcased the ability to obtain a variety of soft actuators with distinct actuation temperatures from the same cross-linked LCE material.
Confirmed that the tuning of T_i is reversible, allowing for readjustment of the actuator's performance.

Conclusions:

The dynamic covalent chemistry in LC vitrimers provides a novel pathway to tune and preserve the isotropization temperature of LCEs.
This approach allows for the fabrication of adaptable soft actuators with multiple, adjustable actuation temperatures from a single material.
The reversible tuning of T_i significantly expands the application range of LCEs in soft robotics and other high-tech fields.