Work

Readily Programmable, Body Temperature‐Responsive Liquid Crystal Elastomers With Dynamic Covalent Thiourea Bonds

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are promising stimuli-responsive materials for applications in wearable devices, biomedical devices, and soft robotics owing to their thermotropic shape-changing behaviors. However, conventional LCEs exhibit high phase-transition temperatures, often exceeding 60°C, which limits their use in human-interfacing applications. Herein, we present body heat-responsive LCEs incorporating dynamic thiourea bonds. Body temperature actuation is achieved by introducing comonomers that weaken anisotropic intermolecular interactions among mesogens into these LCEs, while the dynamic thiourea bonds impart reprocessability to the cross-linked network. Systematic formulation study elucidates the influence of comonomer structure on the actuation performance and network malleability. Furthermore, the dynamic thiourea-based LCE demonstrates reprogrammability even at ambient temperature, enabling facile fabrication of mechanically programmed 3D structures. Finally, we showcase a bump-array actuator that reversibly changes its surface topography in response to body heat.

Source: Macromolecular Rapid Communications

DOI: 10.1002/marc.202500899

Authors: Jin‐Hyeong Lee, Jae Hyuk Hwang, Sungmin Park, Dong‐Gyun Kim, Suk‐kyun Ahn

Institutions: Pusan National University, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Korea University of Science and Technology

Language: English

Topic: Advanced Materials and Mechanics

Subfield: Mechanical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,550

Funders: National Research Foundation, Pusan National University, National Research Foundation of Korea, Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea