The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

In this study, we investigate the influence of a crystalline crosslinker, RM44, which features terminal acrylate groups connected through rigid aromatic segments and flexible ether–alkyl spacers, on the energy dissipation and recovery performance of liquid crystal elastomer (LCE)-based foams. LCE foams inherently dissipate energy through soft elasticity, originating from the reorientation of liquid crystal domains under mechanical load. When RM44 is incorporated into a porous foam structure, its crystalline domains serve as physical crosslinking points that promote network restoration after deformation, thereby enhancing structural recovery. To evaluate these combined effects, we analyzed the storage modulus, loss factor (tan δ), and cyclic recovery behavior of RM44-containing LCE foams, providing insights into how the interplay between liquid crystal domain dynamics and crystalline crosslinkers governs both dissipation and resilience in energy-dissipative LCE materials.