title: Influence of the porosity on the photoresponse of a liquid crystal elastomer.
abstract: Azobenzene containing liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are among of the most prominent photoresponsive polymers due to their fast and reversible response to different light stimuli. To bring new functions into the present framework, novel modifications in bulk material morphology are required. Therefore, we produced azobenzene LCE free-standing films with different porosities. While the porosity provided macroscopic morphological changes, at the same time, it induced modifications in alignment of liquid crystal azobenzene units in the films. We found that a high porosity increased the photoresponse of the LCE in terms of bending angle with high significance. Moreover, the porous LCE films showed similar bending forces to those of pore-free LCE films.
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, Zoological Institute , Kiel University , Am Botanischen Garten 1-9, 24118 Kiel , Germany.
authors.forename: Emre
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7666-8347
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kizilkan
authors.affiliation: Otto-Diels-Institute for Organic Chemistry , Kiel University , Otto-Hahn-Platz 4, 24118 Kiel , Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Strueben
authors.affiliation: Institute for Materials Science, Functional Nanomaterials , Kiel University , Kaiserstrasse 2, 24143 Kiel , Germany.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, Zoological Institute , Kiel University , Am Botanischen Garten 1-9, 24118 Kiel , Germany.
authors.forename: Clemens F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Schaber
authors.affiliation: Institute for Materials Science, Functional Nanomaterials , Kiel University , Kaiserstrasse 2, 24143 Kiel , Germany.
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Adelung
authors.affiliation: Otto-Diels-Institute for Organic Chemistry, Kiel University, Otto-Hahn-Platz 4, 24118 Kiel, Germany; Institute for Organic and Analytical Chemistry, University of Bremen, Leobener Straße NW 2 C, 28359 Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Staubitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, Zoological Institute , Kiel University , Am Botanischen Garten 1-9, 24118 Kiel , Germany.
authors.forename: Stanislav N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Gorb
keywords: azobenzene; liquid crystal elastomers; photoresponsive materials; porous polymers