Anisotropic actuation in electroclinic liquid crystal elastomers

Abstract

The macroscopic mechanical response of a freestanding, electroclinic liquid crystal elastomer to an applied electric field is described. Contraction strains and shearing were observed upon e-field application when 60-μm-thick elastomer films were tested normal and parallel to smectic layers, respectively. The anisotropic response observed in the two orthogonal directions with respect to the smectic layers correlate calculated from mechanical studies with the induced tilt of the molecules. The electrostrictive and electroclinic coefficients agree well with the values calculated from optical tilt angle measurements.