Thermoplastic Liquid Crystal Elastomers Based on ABA-type Triblock Copolymers

Heng-Hui Zhu; Jin-Yu Wang; Nan-Kai Deng; Jia-Xiang Huang; Ya-Nan Hou; Meng Wang; Zhi-Yang Liu; Shuai Huang

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3752-0

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Thermoplastic Liquid Crystal Elastomers Based on ABA-type Triblock Copolymers

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-09-23

- Thermoplastic Liquid Crystal Elastomers Based on ABA-type Triblock Copolymers
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 10, Pages: 3331-3339(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
- Author bio：
  
  huangshuai1991@seu.edu.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3752-0
  CLC：
- Received：15 April 2026，
  
  Accepted：19 May 2026，
  
  Online First：20 July 2026，
  
  Published：05 October 2026
- Accepted：
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Zhu, H. H.; Wang, J. Y.; Deng, N. K.; Huang, J. X.; Hou, Y. N.; Wang, M.; Liu, Z. Y.; Huang, S. Thermoplastic liquid crystal elastomers based on ABA-type triblock copolymers. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 3331–3339

Heng-Hui Zhu, Jin-Yu Wang, Nan-Kai Deng, et al. Thermoplastic Liquid Crystal Elastomers Based on ABA-type Triblock Copolymers[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(10): 3331-3339.
Zhu, H. H.; Wang, J. Y.; Deng, N. K.; Huang, J. X.; Hou, Y. N.; Wang, M.; Liu, Z. Y.; Huang, S. Thermoplastic liquid crystal elastomers based on ABA-type triblock copolymers. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 3331–3339 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3752-0.

Heng-Hui Zhu, Jin-Yu Wang, Nan-Kai Deng, et al. Thermoplastic Liquid Crystal Elastomers Based on ABA-type Triblock Copolymers[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(10): 3331-3339. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3752-0.

摘要

Thermoplastic liquid crystal elastomers are developed based on ABA-type PS-

-MCLCP-

-PS triblock copolymers

where polystyrene domains serve as physical crosslinking sites to enable reversible thermo-actuation and sustainable dissolution-reprocessing properties.

Abstract

Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are compelling smart materials for soft robotics and flexible electronics. However

both conventional and dynamically crosslinked LCE systems fundamentally rely on chemically crosslinked networks

which has long been regarded as a pr

erequisite for their reversible actuation. While thermoplastic elastomers based on block copolymers offer a structural model for constructing robust physically crosslinked networks

it remains a significant challenge to transplant this design strategy into LCEs to realize reversible actuation in non-covalently crosslinked system. Herein

we develop a physically crosslinked thermoplastic LCE system based on ABA-type triblock copolymers (PS-

-MCLCP-

-PS). Polystyrene (PS) hard-block aggregates act as reversible physical crosslinking sites

effectively replacing permanent covalent bonds. We systematically investigated the regulatory effect of the PS block content on the microstructure

mechanical properties

and thermally responsive actuation of the materials. By achieving an optimal balance between physical network confinement and the segment mobility of the liquid crystal phase

the resultant elastomer exhibits excellent reversible thermally driven actuation

well-balanced mechanical properties and solvent recyclability with high mechanical retention. Furthermore

the material demonstrates prominent wide-temperature-range damping performance attributed to the synergistic energy dissipation of the physical network and mesogen rotation. This work offers a feasible molecular design strategy for sustainable and multifunctional LCEs to break the dependence on chemical crosslinking for reversible actuation.

关键词

Keywords

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