| Abstract: | ![]()
In the last several years, multiple‐shape memory liquid crystalline networks (LCNs) have received more and more attention due to the basic theoretical research on them and their wide potential applications. In this article, a novel main‐chain/side‐chain liquid crystalline monomer and its corresponding polymer networks based on the thiol‐ene click reaction are reported. Properties of the synthesized liquid crystalline monomer are well studied with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and polarized optical microscopy (POM). The as‐prepared free‐standing LCN films are investigated well by FTIR, DSC, POM, and X‐ray diffraction (XRD), which show them having good liquid crystalline properties. Tensile test and dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA) results indicate the LCN films have excellent thermal mechanical properties. By adjusting the crosslinking densities, LCN films exhibit two thermal transition temperatures (Tg and TNI) that can be utilized to trigger the triple‐shape memory behaviors. The cyclic thermal mechanical analysis conducted by DMA reveals that LCN films exhibit good triple‐shape memory properties with high‐shape fixity ratio (Rf (S1→S2) is 99.2% and Rf (S2→S3) is 99.3%) and shape recovery ratio (Rr (S3→S2) is 92.4% and Rr (S2→S1) is 98.5%). |
