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Yao Y, He E, Xu H, Liu Y, Yang Z, Wei Y, Ji Y. Enabling liquid crystal elastomers with tunable actuation temperature. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3518. [PMID: 37316483 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39238-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Liquid crystalline elastomers are regarded as a kind of desirable soft actuator material for soft robotics and other high-tech areas. The isotropization temperature (Ti) plays an important role as it determines the actuation temperature and other properties, which in turn has a great effect on their applications. In the past, the common physical methods (e.g. annealing) to tune Ti is not applicable to tune the actuation temperature. The new Ti obtained by annealing immediately goes back to the old one once it is heated to a temperature above Ti, while actuation needs a temperature higher than Ti. For a fully cross-linked LCE material, once it is synthesized, the actuation temperature is fixed. Accordingly, the actuation temperature can not be tuned unless the chemical structure is changed, which usually needs to start from the very beginning of the molecular design and material synthesis. Here, we found that different Ti achieved by annealing can be preserved by reversible reactions of dynamic covalent bonds in covalently adaptable LC networks including LC vitrimers. Thus, a variety of soft actuators with different actuation temperatures can be obtained from the same fully cross-linked LCE material. As the tuning of Ti is also reversible, the same actuator can be adjusted for applications with different actuation temperature requirements. Such tuning will also expand the application of LCEs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanjin Yao
- The Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Enjian He
- The Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Hongtu Xu
- The Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Yawen Liu
- The Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Zhijun Yang
- The Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Yen Wei
- The Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
- Department of Chemistry, Center for Nanotechnology and Institute of Biomedical Technology, Chung-Yuan Christian University, Chung-Li, 32023, Taiwan, China
| | - Yan Ji
- The Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
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Yagi S, Oguro M, Tokita M. Stress Response and Deformation of Block Copolymer Lamellae on Stretching in Normal Direction: Effects of Lateral Size of Lamellae. MACROMOL CHEM PHYS 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/macp.202100399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Seiichiro Yagi
- S. Yagi, M. Oguro, Prof. M. Tokita Department of Chemical Science and Engineering Tokyo Institute of Technology Ookayama, Meguro Tokyo 152–8550 Japan
| | - Masaaki Oguro
- S. Yagi, M. Oguro, Prof. M. Tokita Department of Chemical Science and Engineering Tokyo Institute of Technology Ookayama, Meguro Tokyo 152–8550 Japan
| | - Masatoshi Tokita
- S. Yagi, M. Oguro, Prof. M. Tokita Department of Chemical Science and Engineering Tokyo Institute of Technology Ookayama, Meguro Tokyo 152–8550 Japan
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3
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Hayashi M, Kuribayashi J, Tokita M. Long-range lamellar formation in blends of divided-lamellar-forming liquid crystal block copolymers with liquid crystal homopolymers. POLYMER 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2020.123086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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4
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Ishige R. Precise structural analysis of polymer materials using synchrotron X-ray scattering and spectroscopic methods. Polym J 2020. [DOI: 10.1038/s41428-020-0357-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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5
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Kuribayashi J, Ishige R, Hayashi M, Tokita M. Deformation of Hierarchical Lamellar Structure Formed by a Liquid Crystalline Block Copolymer. MACROMOL CHEM PHYS 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/macp.202000042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Junpei Kuribayashi
- Department Chemical Science and EngineeringTokyo Institute of Technology Ookayama, Meguro‐ku Tokyo 152‐8552 Japan
| | - Ryohei Ishige
- Department Chemical Science and EngineeringTokyo Institute of Technology Ookayama, Meguro‐ku Tokyo 152‐8552 Japan
| | - Mikihiro Hayashi
- Department Chemical Science and EngineeringTokyo Institute of Technology Ookayama, Meguro‐ku Tokyo 152‐8552 Japan
| | - Masatoshi Tokita
- Department Chemical Science and EngineeringTokyo Institute of Technology Ookayama, Meguro‐ku Tokyo 152‐8552 Japan
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6
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Koga M, Tokita M, Mizukado J, Shinzawa H. Two-dimensional (2D) small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) correlation spectroscopy for block copolymer consisting of microlamellar and liquid crystal (LC) structures. J Mol Struct 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2020.127767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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7
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Hayashi M, Kuribayashi J, Tokita M. Lamellar structures in blends of amorphous–block–main-chain liquid crystal–block–amorphous copolymers and amorphous homopolymers: Effects of the amorphous homopolymer molecular weight. POLYMER 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2019.121555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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8
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Transition of liquid crystal anchoring at the microdomain interface observed for main-chain nematic polyester segments of block copolymers. Polym J 2018. [DOI: 10.1038/s41428-018-0131-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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9
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Li S, Jiang Y, Chen JZY. Complex liquid-crystal nanostructures in semiflexible ABC linear triblock copolymers: A self-consistent field theory. J Chem Phys 2016; 145:184902. [PMID: 27846676 DOI: 10.1063/1.4967423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We show that two series of ABC linear triblock copolymers possess sequences of order-to-order phase transitions between microphase-separated states, as the degree of flexibility of the semiflexible middle B-blocks varies. The spatial and orientational symmetries of these phases, some of them containing liquid-crystal ordering, are analysed in comparison with related structures previously determined experimentally and theoretically. A theoretical framework based on the self-consistent field treatment of the wormlike-chain model, which incorporates the Flory-Huggins and Maier-Saupe interactions in the free energy, is used here as a basic foundation for numerical calculations. We suggest that tuning the flexibility parameter, which reduces to the concept of degree of polymerization in the coil-like limit and characterizes the chain-persistency in the rod-like limit, provides a promising approach that can be used to design the resulting microphase-separated structures in semiflexible copolymer melts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiben Li
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
| | - Ying Jiang
- School of Chemistry and Environment and Center of Soft Matter Physics and its Applications, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Jeff Z Y Chen
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
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Ishige R, Ohta N, Ogawa H, Tokita M, Takahara A. Fully Liquid-Crystalline ABA Triblock Copolymer of Fluorinated Side-Chain Liquid-Crystalline A Block and Main-Chain Liquid-Crystalline B Block: Higher Order Structure in Bulk and Thin Film States. Macromolecules 2016. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.6b00855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Noboru Ohta
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research
Institute (JASRI/SPring-8), Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - Hiroki Ogawa
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research
Institute (JASRI/SPring-8), Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - Masatoshi Tokita
- Department of Chemical Science and Engineering,
School of Materials and Chemical Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama,
Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
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11
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Chen W, Zhu Y, Cui F, Liu L, Sun Z, Chen J, Li Y. GPU-Accelerated Molecular Dynamics Simulation to Study Liquid Crystal Phase Transition Using Coarse-Grained Gay-Berne Anisotropic Potential. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0151704. [PMID: 26986851 PMCID: PMC4795799 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2015] [Accepted: 03/02/2016] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Gay-Berne (GB) potential is regarded as an accurate model in the simulation of anisotropic particles, especially for liquid crystal (LC) mesogens. However, its computational complexity leads to an extremely time-consuming process for large systems. Here, we developed a GPU-accelerated molecular dynamics (MD) simulation with coarse-grained GB potential implemented in GALAMOST package to investigate the LC phase transitions for mesogens in small molecules, main-chain or side-chain polymers. For identical mesogens in three different molecules, on cooling from fully isotropic melts, the small molecules form a single-domain smectic-B phase, while the main-chain LC polymers prefer a single-domain nematic phase as a result of connective restraints in neighboring mesogens. The phase transition of side-chain LC polymers undergoes a two-step process: nucleation of nematic islands and formation of multi-domain nematic texture. The particular behavior originates in the fact that the rotational orientation of the mesogenes is hindered by the polymer backbones. Both the global distribution and the local orientation of mesogens are critical for the phase transition of anisotropic particles. Furthermore, compared with the MD simulation in LAMMPS, our GPU-accelerated code is about 4 times faster than the GPU version of LAMMPS and at least 200 times faster than the CPU version of LAMMPS. This study clearly shows that GPU-accelerated MD simulation with GB potential in GALAMOST can efficiently handle systems with anisotropic particles and interactions, and accurately explore phase differences originated from molecular structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenduo Chen
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Rubber & Laboratory of Advanced Power Sources, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5625 Renmin Street, Changchun, PR China
| | - Youliang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5625 Renmin Street, Changchun, PR China
| | - Fengchao Cui
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Rubber & Laboratory of Advanced Power Sources, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5625 Renmin Street, Changchun, PR China
| | - Lunyang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Rubber & Laboratory of Advanced Power Sources, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5625 Renmin Street, Changchun, PR China
| | - Zhaoyan Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5625 Renmin Street, Changchun, PR China
| | - Jizhong Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5625 Renmin Street, Changchun, PR China
| | - Yunqi Li
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Rubber & Laboratory of Advanced Power Sources, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5625 Renmin Street, Changchun, PR China
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Choo Y, Mahajan LH, Gopinadhan M, Ndaya D, Deshmukh P, Kasi RM, Osuji CO. Phase Behavior of Polylactide-Based Liquid Crystalline Brushlike Block Copolymers. Macromolecules 2015. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.5b02009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Youngwoo Choo
- Department
of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, United States
| | | | - Manesh Gopinadhan
- Department
of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, United States
| | | | | | | | - Chinedum O. Osuji
- Department
of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, United States
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13
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Abe K, Koga M, Wakabayashi T, Kang S, Sakajiri K, Watanabe J, Tokita M. Thermally Reversible Distortion Observed for Triblock Copolymers Comprising Main-Chain Liquid Crystal Polyesters Attached to Photo-Cross-Linked Cinnamate Segments at Both Ends. Macromolecules 2015. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.5b01646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Kohei Abe
- Department
of Organic and
Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama,
Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
| | - Maito Koga
- Department
of Organic and
Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama,
Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
| | - Takumi Wakabayashi
- Department
of Organic and
Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama,
Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
| | - Sungmin Kang
- Department
of Organic and
Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama,
Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
| | - Koichi Sakajiri
- Department
of Organic and
Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama,
Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
| | - Junji Watanabe
- Department
of Organic and
Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama,
Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
| | - Masatoshi Tokita
- Department
of Organic and
Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama,
Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
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14
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Koga M, Abe K, Sato K, Koki J, Kang S, Sakajiri K, Watanabe J, Tokita M. Self-Assembly of Flexible–Semiflexible–Flexible Triblock Copolymers. Macromolecules 2014. [DOI: 10.1021/ma500798z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Maito Koga
- Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials and ‡Technical Department, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
| | - Kohei Abe
- Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials and ‡Technical Department, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
| | - Kazunori Sato
- Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials and ‡Technical Department, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
| | - Jun Koki
- Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials and ‡Technical Department, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
| | - Sungmin Kang
- Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials and ‡Technical Department, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
| | - Koichi Sakajiri
- Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials and ‡Technical Department, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
| | - Junji Watanabe
- Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials and ‡Technical Department, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
| | - Masatoshi Tokita
- Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials and ‡Technical Department, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
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15
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KOGA M, TOKITA M. Micro-Phase Separated Structures of Block Copolymers Having a Semiflexible Liquid Crystalline Main-Chain Polyester Block. KOBUNSHI RONBUNSHU 2014. [DOI: 10.1295/koron.71.501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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