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Nanomaterials-Embedded Liquid Crystal Elastomers in Electronics Devices Application

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Flexible and Stretchable Electronic Composites

Part of the book series: Springer Series on Polymer and Composite Materials ((SSPCM))

Abstract

Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are soft, elastic, durable, and lightweight materials that offer different physical phenomena with the presence of external stimuli. Cross-linked natural three-dimensional structures of liquid-crystalline polymer chains (nematic, cholesteric, or smectic) form the elastic network of LCEs. The hybridization by dispersing nanoparticles (NPs) or nanotubes (NTs) in LCEs matrix leads to change in its physical as well as chemical properties. This chapter focuses on recent developments of NPs- and NTs-embedded LCEs that has provided many opportunities for a wide range of applications of electronic devices including actuators, tactile display, soft robotics, and microtechnology. LCEs network with reinforced nanomaterials provide better electrical, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties resulting enhancement of performance in its targeted applications. Initially, brief synthesis processes of zero- to one-dimensional nanomaterials-embedded LCEs composites will be discussed by explaining the core mechanism followed by physical properties. Subsequently, details of devices application such as soft robotics, artificial heliotropism, refreshable braille displays, reversible shape-changing artificial muscles, and shape memory will be discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh

    Md Mohiuddin

  2. School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia

    Tran Thanh Tung

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  1. Md Mohiuddin
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  2. Tran Thanh Tung
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Correspondence to Md Mohiuddin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Advanced Materials, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

    Deepalekshmi Ponnamma

  2. Center for Advanced Materials, Qatar University, Doha,, Qatar

    Kishor Kumar Sadasivuni

  3. for Nanocomposites Manufacturing, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom

    Chaoying Wan

  4. School of Chemical Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, India

    Sabu Thomas

  5. Center for Advanced Materials, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

    Mariam Al-Ali AlMa'adeed

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Mohiuddin, M., Tung, T.T. (2016). Nanomaterials-Embedded Liquid Crystal Elastomers in Electronics Devices Application . In: Ponnamma, D., Sadasivuni, K., Wan, C., Thomas, S., Al-Ali AlMa'adeed, M. (eds) Flexible and Stretchable Electronic Composites. Springer Series on Polymer and Composite Materials. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23663-6_13

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