Recent Advances in 4D Printing of Liquid Crystal Elastomers

Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are renowned for their large, reversible, and anisotropic shape change in response to various external stimuli due to their lightly cross‐linked polymer networks with an oriented mesogen direction, thus showing great potential for applications in robotics, bio‐medics...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advanced materials (Weinheim) 2023-06, Vol.35 (23), p.e2209566-n/a
Main Authors: Chen, Mei, Gao, Ming, Bai, Lichun, Zheng, Han, Qi, H. Jerry, Zhou, Kun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
4D printing
actuators
Alignment
Automation
dissipators
Elastomers
liquid crystal elastomers
Liquid crystals
Manufacturing engineering
Materials science
optics
Printing
Production methods
programmable stimuli‐responsiveness
Robotics
Stimuli
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Summary:Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are renowned for their large, reversible, and anisotropic shape change in response to various external stimuli due to their lightly cross‐linked polymer networks with an oriented mesogen direction, thus showing great potential for applications in robotics, bio‐medics, electronics, optics, and energy. To fully take advantage of the anisotropic stimuli‐responsive behaviors of LCEs, it is preferable to achieve a locally controlled mesogen alignment into monodomain orientations. In recent years, the application of 4D printing to LCEs opens new doors for simultaneously programming the mesogen alignment and the 3D geometry, offering more opportunities and higher feasibility for the fabrication of 4D‐printed LCE objects with desirable stimuli‐responsive properties. Here, the state‐of‐the‐art advances in 4D printing of LCEs are reviewed, with emphasis on both the mechanisms and potential applications. First, the fundamental properties of LCEs and the working principles of the representative 4D printing techniques are briefly introduced. Then, the fabrication of LCEs by 4D printing techniques and the advantages over conventional manufacturing methods are demonstrated. Finally, perspectives on the current challenges and potential development trends toward the 4D printing of LCEs are discussed, which may shed light on future research directions in this new field. Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) exhibit attractive stimuli‐responsive properties, showing great application potential in soft robotics, biomedicine, optics, etc. The advent of 4D printing opens a new door for the design and fabrication of LCEs with programmable stimuli‐responsive properties and 3D geometries. The state‐of‐the‐art advances in 4D printing of LCEs are reviewed, with emphasis on both mechanisms and potential applications.
ISSN:0935-9648
1521-4095
DOI:10.1002/adma.202209566