Self-healing and phase behavior of liquid crystalline elastomer based on a block copolymer constituted of a side-chain liquid crystalline polymer and a hydrogen bonding block

Abstract

In this paper, we reported novel multiphase supramolecular liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) based on a liquid crystalline block copolymer (LCBCP), which consisted of a side-chain liquid crystalline polymer (SCLCP) and a soft segment with hydrogen bonds. The polymers were “cross-linked” by multiple hydrogen bonds, forming a structure similar to the thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). The SCLCP embedded in the soft chain matrix exhibited physical cross-linking properties as well as the enhanced mechanical properties. At the same time, hydrogen bonds in this new system allowed the self-healing capability of dynamic supramolecular assemblies without any external stimulus, healing agent, plasticizer or solvent. More interestingly, it was found that the introduction of hydrogen bonds resulted in weakening the ability of the microphase separation of the block copolymer and improvement of the ordered structure of the liquid crystalline phase.