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Training and retraining liquid crystal elastomer metamaterials for pluripotent functionality.

Savannah D Gowen1, Elina Ghimire2, Charlie A Lindberg2

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study demonstrates that liquid crystal elastomers can be trained for specific mechanical functions, like auxeticity, and then reset and retrained for new functions, showcasing pluripotent material design.

Keywords:
directed agingliquid crystal elastomersmetamaterialsnetworkstraining

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Soft Matter Physics

Background:

  • Materials design traditionally relies on chemical modification or reprocessing.
  • A novel approach, 'training,' uses physical modification to impart function.
  • Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) offer tunable mechanical properties.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the 'training' and 'erasing' of mechanical functions in macroscopic LCE metamaterials.
  • To demonstrate the ability to induce and reverse specific mechanical responses on-demand.
  • To explore the concept of pluripotent functionality in engineered materials.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of macroscopic metamaterials from liquid crystal elastomers.
  • Utilizing directed aging techniques to tune material properties.
  • Applying mechanical stimuli to induce and subsequently erase specific functions.

Main Results:

  • Successfully trained LCE metamaterials to exhibit an auxetic response by tuning the Poisson's ratio via directed aging.
  • Demonstrated the ability to reset the material's state and retrain it for a different mechanical function, allostery.
  • Confirmed the pluripotent nature of the trained LCE metamaterials.

Conclusions:

  • LCE metamaterials can be reversibly programmed with mechanical functions through physical training.
  • This training and erasing capability enables on-demand functional reprogramming.
  • The findings open new avenues for designing adaptive and multifunctional materials.