Issue 29, 2017

Liquid crystalline epoxy networks with exchangeable disulfide bonds

Abstract

A liquid crystalline epoxy network (LCEN) with exchangeable disulfide bonds is synthesized by polymerizing a biphenyl-based epoxy monomer with an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid curing agent containing a disulfide bond. The effect of disulfide bonds on curing behavior and liquid crystalline (LC) phase formation of the LCEN is investigated. The presence of the disulfide bonds results in an increase in the reaction rate, leading to a reduction in liquid crystallinity of the LCEN. In order to promote LC phase formation and stabilize the self-assembled LC domains, a similar aliphatic dicarboxylic acid without the disulfide bond is used as a co-curing agent to reduce the amount of exchangeable disulfide bonds in the system. After optimizing the molar ratio of the two curing agents, the resulting LCEN exhibits improved reprocessability and recyclability because of the disulfide exchange reactions, while preserving LC properties, such as the reversible LC phase transition and macroscopic LC orientation, for shape memory applications.

Graphical abstract: Liquid crystalline epoxy networks with exchangeable disulfide bonds

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
09 Mey 2017
Accepted
08 Jun 2017
First published
09 Jun 2017

Soft Matter, 2017,13, 5021-5027

Liquid crystalline epoxy networks with exchangeable disulfide bonds

Y. Li, Y. Zhang, O. Rios, J. K. Keum and M. R. Kessler, Soft Matter, 2017, 13, 5021 DOI: 10.1039/C7SM00934H

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements