title: Polydomain-monodomain orientational process in smectic-C main-chain liquid-crystalline elastomers.
abstract: The polydomain-monodomain (PM) transformation takes place when a polydomain of a smectic-C main-chain liquid-crystalline elastomer (SmC MCLCE) is uniaxially stretched. We present results based on a combination of mechanical and X-ray experiments which show how the domains initially rearrange to finally form a perfect conical layer distribution (monodomain) when the sample is fully stretched. The rearrangement and orientational process of the domains is quantified and compared to the parallel and perpendicular uniaxial stress-strain deformations of a monodomain sample. The stress-strain behaviour of the polydomain lays between the uniaxial deformations, parallel and perpendicular to the director, of the monodomain sample.
authors: Food & Soft Materials Science Group, Institute of Food, Nutrition & Health, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland. antoni.sanchez@agrl.ethz.ch
authors: Antoni
authors: A
authors: Sánchez-Ferrer
authors: Heino
authors: H
authors: Finkelmann
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization; D020724:Elastomers / Q000737:chemistry*; D050866:Liquid Crystals / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D015394:Molecular Structure
chemical_list: D020724:Elastomers