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Asian Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences | ISSN: 2249-622X | Volume 8
&
Joint Event
Chemistry and Organic Chemistry
Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy
International Conference on
8th World Congress on
October 22-23, 2018 | Frankfurt, Germany
The chemistry beyond liquid crystalline elastomeric microdevices
Parmeggiani C
University of Florence and LENS, Italy
Smart polymers are artificial materials that can respond
to external stimuli. Among these, liquid-crystalline
elastomers (LCEs) combine the properties of polymeric
elastomers and liquid crystalline orientations, performing
dramatic shape change (20-400%) under light/heat stimuli
and allow for realization of remotely controlled robots.
Moreover, the increasing interest is due to the opportunity
to trigger their deformation by irradiation with light, when
azobenzene dyes are included in the polymer structure.
Important challenges lie in the miniaturization of functional
structures. Direct Laser Writing (DLW) has been recently
used to fabricate LCE structures with sub-micron resolution,
exhibiting deformation under light excitation. The technique
was demonstrated to allow for the realization of polymeric
microstructures that can be locally controlled both in
shape and molecular alignment, with nanometer precision.
Implementation of materials to be used with such technique
attracted our interest. Acrylate based mesogens, cross-
linkers and dye were first studied and used to prepare
LCE. Moreover, for the first time, thiol-yne click chemistry
was employed to obtain LCEs. This reaction allows for the
realization of mixed type “main-chain/side-chain” LCE. The
new liquid crystalline networks, which incorporate part
of mesogens in the main-chain of the polymer, are able to
maximise the coupling between mesogens and the polymer
backbone resulting in big deformation under nematic to
isotropic transition. In this communication a short excursus
on acrylate based mesogens and the new synthetic strategy
are presented together with the comparison between the
materials obtained.
Speaker Biography
Parmeggiani C has completed her PhD in Chemical Science at the age of 29 years from
University of Florence with Prof. A. Goti and she was recently awarded as researcher at
the Chemistry Department of the University of Florence. Since 2010 she is associate at the
European Laboratory for Non Linear- Spectroscopy and at the National Institute of Optics
(CNR). In 2016 she was awarded with the “Organic Chemistry for environment, energy and
nanosciences” prize from the Organic Chemistry Division of the SCI and she was a finalists
of the European Young Chemist Award. She authored 37 papers, 1 book and 3 patents
(h-index 16), on smart materials, stereoselective synthesis of iminosugars and new green
oxidation methods that have been cited over 1150 times.
e:
Parmeggiani C, Chemistry and Biomedicine 2018, Volume 8
DOI: 10.4066/2249-622X-C4-011