Meltable copolymeric elastomers based on polydimethylsiloxane with multiplets of pendant liquid-crystalline groups as physical crosslinker: A self-healing structural material with a potential for smart applications
Abstract(#br)Elastomers with strong physical crosslinks were prepared, based on alternating polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) spacer segments and pendant quartets of mesogenic building blocks (LC) of azobenzene type. They are structurally related to the well-studied polymers with pendant-chain LC units (light-sensitive actuators), but are generally highly different: The LC units make up only a small volume fraction in our materials and they do not generate elastic energy upon irradiation, but they act as physical crosslinkers with thermotropic properties.