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Related Experiment Video

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Synthesis of Programmable Main-chain Liquid-crystalline Elastomers Using a Two-stage Thiol-acrylate Reaction
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Readily Programmable, Body Temperature-Responsive Liquid Crystal Elastomers With Dynamic Covalent Thiourea Bonds.

Jin-Hyeong Lee1, Jae Hyuk Hwang2, Sungmin Park2,3

  • 1School of Chemical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea.

Macromolecular Rapid Communications
|January 14, 2026
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Summary

New liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) respond to body heat, enabling wearable devices. Dynamic thiourea bonds allow easy reprocessing and 3D structure fabrication for advanced soft robotics.

Keywords:
body temperature responsivenessdynamic covalent bondsliquid crystal elastomerssoft actuators

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Polymer Chemistry
  • Soft Robotics

Background:

  • Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are stimuli-responsive materials with thermotropic shape-changing properties.
  • Conventional LCEs have high transition temperatures (>60°C), limiting their use in human-interfacing applications.
  • There is a need for LCEs that can actuate at body temperature for biomedical and wearable applications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop body heat-responsive LCEs.
  • To incorporate dynamic thiourea bonds for reprocessability and ambient temperature reprogrammability.
  • To investigate the effect of comonomer structure on actuation performance and network malleability.

Main Methods:

  • Synthesized LCEs with dynamic thiourea bonds and specific comonomers.
  • Performed systematic formulation studies to optimize LCE properties.
  • Evaluated actuation performance, network malleability, and reprogrammability at various temperatures.
  • Fabricated and tested a bump-array actuator demonstrating reversible surface topography changes.

Main Results:

  • Developed LCEs that actuate effectively at body temperature (below 60°C).
  • Incorporated dynamic thiourea bonds, enabling reprocessability and ambient temperature reprogrammability.
  • Demonstrated that comonomer structure significantly influences actuation performance and malleability.
  • Showcased a functional bump-array actuator with reversible body-heat-induced topography changes.

Conclusions:

  • Body heat-responsive LCEs with dynamic thiourea bonds offer a promising platform for human-interfacing applications.
  • The developed LCEs exhibit excellent reprocessability and reprogrammability, facilitating complex structure fabrication.
  • These materials pave the way for advanced soft robotics, wearable devices, and biomedical applications requiring precise thermal actuation.