Orientational Switching of Mesogens and Microdomains in Hydrogen‐Bonded Side‐Chain Liquid‐Crystalline Block Copolymers Using AC Electric Fields |
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| Authors: | C.-Y. Chao X. Li C. K. Ober C. Osuji E. L. Thomas |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA;2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA |
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| Abstract: | In this report, we show that the microstructures of hydrogen‐bonded side‐chain liquid‐crystalline block copolymers can be rapidly aligned in an alternating current (AC) electric field at temperatures below the order–disorder transition but above the glass transition. The structures and their orientation were measured in real time with synchrotron X‐ray scattering. Incorporation of mesogenic groups with marked dipolar properties is a key element in this process. A mechanism related to the dissociation of hydrogen bonds is proposed to account for the fast orientation switching of the hydrogen‐bonded blends. |
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| Keywords: | Alignment, electric‐field‐induced Block copolymers Liquid crystals, side‐chain Mesogens Switching, orientational |
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