Three-Dimensional Torsional Actuation of Liquid Crystal Elastomer Droplets

Abstract

In nature, twisting motions of many organisms enable complex mechanical function such as swimming, crawling, climbing and energy storage. Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are anisotropic polymeric materials which are promising candidates for the soft-actuator owing to their capability of stimuli-responsive properties. In this work, we report the highly reversible three-dimensional torsional actuation of LCE droplet using thermal trigger. LCE droplet was obtained by removing non-polymerizable mesogen after simply mixing reactive and non-reactive mesogen. We verified the twisted configuration and twisting mechanism of LCE with fluorescence confocal polarizing microscopy. This versatile twisting actuation of LCE droplet provides fundamental understanding for controlling morphology of LCE droplet and design rules for self-swimming particles.