COUPLING AND MEMORY IN LIQUID-CRYSTAL ELASTOMERS

The polymer backbone of a side-chain liquid crystal polymer exhibits a n anisotropic shape due to the coupling of the liquid crystal orientat ional order of the mesogenic side-chains to the backbone. The magnitud e and sign of this coupling may be controlled by chemical design. The introduction of chemical cross-links in to such a system provides both a memory of the anisotropic organisation and a mechanism by which the microscopic anisotropy can be realised at a macroscopic level. We sho w how this anisotropic network structure yields new phenomena when ele ctric or mechanical fields are applied.