Cross-Linked Liquid Crystalline Systems: From Rigid Polymer Networks to Elastomers

Liquid crystal displays were discovered in the 1960s, and today we continue to enjoy the benefits of that fundamental discovery and its translation into a wide variety of products. Like liquid crystals, polymers are unusual materials, and have similarly enjoyed a great deal of research attention because of their vast applications and uses and complex fundamental properties. The combination of liquid crystal and polymer properties produces a broad array of new effects―spanning from densely crosslinked, rigid polymer networks to weakly crosslinked elastomers―that are not simply manifestations of either native liquid crystals or polymers alone.

Cross-Linked Liquid Crystalline Systems brings together liquid crystal and polymer systems and their variations. The field, much like traditional liquid crystals, is one of an interdisciplinary nature with a broad spectrum, from the very fundamental questions of nature to a myriad of practical uses. There seems to be no shortage of unusual properties and far-reaching applications in densely crossed-linked liquid crystal systems and liquid crystal elastomers. These systems provide a rich new avenue for both fundamental and applied research and continue to fascinate scientists and engineers. Specifically, this book covers:

• Cross-linked networks created from reactive mesogen materials

• Manipulation of liquid crystalline by external constraints

• Advances in liquid crystal display screen technology

• Physical and electromagnetic properties of elastomers and magnetic gels

• Computer simulations and theory of liquid crystal polymeric networks and elastomers

• Side-on nematic liquid-crystalline elastomers for artificial muscle applications

Liquid crystal display technology has driven much of the fundamental research in crosslinked liquid crystalline systems. The systems’ ability to enforce three-di