Photomechanics: Wrinkled Liquid‐Crystalline Microparticle‐Enhanced Photoresponse of PDLC‐Like Films by Coupling with Mechanical Stretching (Small 21/2011)

The picture shows an illustration of polymer-dispersed LC (PDLC)-like films showing interesting photomechanical properties. The PDLC-like films are easily fabricated with LC polymer microparticles as guests and photoinert polymers as the host. Upon mechanical stretching, both topological shape change and mesogenic alignment occur in the LC polymer microparticles, enabling the obtained films to bend toward the light source upon UV irradiation and directly transferring light into mechanical force. Based on this novel hybrid method, photoresponsive materials and the size of photomechanical devices can be freely tailored; numerous applications from nanoscale to macroscopic are possible, including those where an efficient, battery-free, and noncontact power supply are required for mechanical motion.