Chuqiao (Elise) Chen

Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are crosslinked polymer networks made from liquid crystal (LC) monomers. Inheriting the phase transition behavior and the alignment control of liquid crystals, LCE materials demonstrate unusual mechanical properties and stimuli-responsive behavior. For example, when heated through nematic to isotropic transition temperature, monodomian LCEs undergo contraction along the nematic director, converting thermal energy to mechanical work. Elise studies liquid crystal polymer network materials through synthesis, characterization and modeling. In particular, she is interested in reversible networks employing dynamic covalent chemistry and the shape memory properties of LCEs.