Abstract
Responsive polymers have yet to significantly impact the marketplace. In this Perspective, we offer a glimpse of a possible future industrial-scale responsive polymer. We begin by briefly reviewing two different existing polymer materials, one with high volume, excellent processability, and commercial impact (polyurethanes), the other with stimuli responsive functional properties (liquid crystal elastomers). We explore the possibilities of combining the properties of these two disparate entities into a single material. We offer intriguing possibilities for a bulk polymer with both responsivity and processability that could compete in the market with the long-established residents and discuss some of the research roadblocks that need to be overcome to reach this lofty goal.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 31685-31697 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 22 |
| Early online date | 26 May 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 4 Jun 2025 |
Funding
This work is financially supported by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (Gravity Program 024.005.02\u2500Interactive Polymer Materials IPM). L.Y. has received funding from the Chinese Scholarship Council. X.W. has received funding from the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie grant agreement No 899987 and the Institute for Complex Molecular Systems at Eindhoven University of Technology.
Keywords
- industrial polymers
- liquid crystal elastomers
- polyurethanes
- smart materials
- stimuli-responsive actuators