(J. Am. Chem. Soc.) Covalent Adaptable Liquid Crystal Networks Enabled by Reversible Ring-Opening Cascades of Cyclic Disulfides
writer：Huang, S.; Shen, Y.; Bisoyi, H. K.; Tao, Y.; Liu, Z.; Wang, M.; Yang, H.*; Li, Q.*
keywords：Liquid Crystal Network
source：期刊
specific source：Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2021, 143, 12543-12551.
Issue time：2021年
The development of covalent adaptable liquid crystal
networks (LCNs) enabled by introducing dynamic covalent bonds has
endowed liquid crystal actuators with self-healing properties and
reversible shape programmability, broadening their applications in
diverse soft robotic devices. However, the finite molecular design
strategy limits the recyclability and the architectural diversity of these
materials. Here, a strategy is first reported for fabricating photoresponsive polydisulfide-based covalent adaptable LCNs by ringopening polymerization of cyclic dithiolane groups. Based on the
disulfide metathesis, the resulting materials are self-healable,
reshapable, and reprogrammable. Importantly, the equilibrium
between the polymer backbones and the dithiolane-functionalized
monomers enables catalytic depolymerization to recycle monomers,
which could significantly weaken the disadvantage of subtractive manufacturing of photomechanical devices. This work rooted in
chemistry would provide an economical and environmentally friendly strategy for the fabrication of functional soft robotics with
excellent programmability and renewability and beyond.