Ferroelectric liquid crystalline polymers elastomers

Brodowsky HM, Boehnke UC, Kremer F, Gebhard E, Zentel R. 1999. Mechanical deformation behavior in highly anisotropic elastomers made from ferroelectric liquid crystalline polymers. Langmuir 15 274 278. 

Mesogenic groups can be incorporated into polymeric systems [7]. This results in materials of novel features like main chain systems of extraordinary impact strength, side-chain systems with mesogens which can be switched in their orientation by external electric fields or—if chiral groups are attached to the mesogenic units—ferroelectric liquid crystalline polymers and elastomers. The dynamics of such systems depends in detail on its molecular architecture, i.e. especially the main chain polymer and its stiffness, the spacer molecules... 

Brehmer M, Zentel R (2011) Ferroelectric liquid crystalline elastomers. In Encyclopedia of polymer science and technology. Wiley. doi 10.1002/0471440264.pst429.pub2... 

It can be safely predicted that applications of liquid crystals will expand in the future to more and more sophisticated areas of electronics. Potential applications of ferroelectric liquid crystals (e.g. fast shutters, complex multiplexed displays) are particularly exciting. The only LC that can show ferroelectric property is the chiral smectic C. Viable ferroelectric displays have however not yet materialized. Antifer-roelectric phases may also have good potential in display applications. Supertwisted nematic displays of twist artgles of around 240° and materials with low viscosity which respond relatively fast, have found considerable application. Another development is the polymer dispersed liquid crystal display in which small nematic droplets ( 2 gm in diameter) are formed in a polymer matrix. Liquid crystalline elastomers with novel physical properties would have many applications. 

Brehmer, M., Wiesemann, A., Wischerhoff, E., and Zentel, R., Functional liquid cry.s-talline polymers ferroelectric polymers and liquid crystalline elastomers and iono-mers, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Ciyst., 254, 405-416 (1994). 

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