Electromechanical polydomains

Another useful property of LCEs is that their shape changes by applied electric fields, electromechanical responses, owing to reorientation effects induced by electric field. Zentel first found tiny changes of LCEs swollen in LMWLCs under large fields in 1986 (Zentel, 1986). Subsequently, Barnes et al. (1989) observed 20% contraction of polydomain elastomers swollen in an isotropic LMWLC. Kishi et al. 

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