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ACS Appl Mater Interfaces

Title:		Electrospun Core-Sheath Fibers with a Uniformly Aligned Polymer Network Liquid Crystal (PNLC)
Author(s):		Zhang Z; Bolshakov A; Han J; Zhu J; Yang KL;
Address:		"National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Advanced Composites in Special Environments, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080, P. R. China. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 4, 117576 Singapore, Singapore"
Journal Title:		ACS Appl Mater Interfaces
Year:		2023
Volume:		20230314
Issue:
Page Number:		-
DOI:		10.1021/acsami.2c23065
ISSN/ISBN:		1944-8252 (Electronic) 1944-8244 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Electrospun polymer-liquid crystal (PLC) fibers have potential applications such as wearable sensors and adaptive textiles because of their rapid response and high flexibility. However, existing PLC fibers only have a narrow responsive range and poor resistance to heat and chemicals. Herein, a new type of PLC fiber is prepared by using a coaxial electrospinning process. The core solution is 4'-pentyl-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (5CB), and the sheath solution is a mixture containing 13 wt % PVP and 10 wt % reactive mesogen (RM). After UV exposure of the fibers, 5CB in the core and RM diffusing from the core are cross-linked into an LC polymer. The fibers have a highly uniform morphology with an average diameter of 3.2 +/- 0.5 mum, and mesogens inside the fibers align unidirectionally with the long axis of the fibers. The fibers show a broad phase-transition temperature range between 13.5 and 155.5 degrees C and have a response time of less than 10 s. The temperature range can also be controlled by adjusting components in the electrospun fibers and UV exposure time. The core-sheath fibers prepared in such a manner exhibit excellent heat and chemical resistance with reversible optical responses. Moreover, when the fibers are exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as toluene, the fibers show a rapid optical response to toluene vapor within 25 s. This study demonstrates that the fibers are potentially useful for preparing flexible temperature and chemical sensors"
Keywords:		electrospun fibers liquid crystals optical response phase transition polymer networks;
Notes:		"PublisherZhang, Zhibo Bolshakov, Andrey Han, Jiecai Zhu, Jiaqi Yang, Kun-Lin eng 2023/03/15 ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2023 Mar 14. doi: 10.1021/acsami.2c23065"