Stimulus–Responsive Nematic Gels

Nematic elastomers exhibit a rich variety of stimulus–response behaviors owing to their hybrid characters of liquid crystals and elastomers. The nematic elastomers swollen by low molecular mass liquid crystals show anisotropic swelling, and their volume and shape significantly depend on temperature. The swollen nematic elastomers exhibit macroscopic deformation together with a large change in optical birefringence in fast response to electric fields (electro–opto–mechanical effect). The mechanical stretching of the nematic elastomers normal to the initial director drives the director realignment along the elongation axis.