Thermal response of cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers

The effects of temperature variation on photonic properties of cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers (CLCEs) are investigated in mechanically unconstrained and constrained geometries. In the unconstrained geometry, cooling in the cholesteric state induces both a considerable shift of the selective reflection band to shorter wavelengths and a finite degree of macroscopic expansion in the two directions normal to the axis of the helical director configuration. The thermal deformation is driven by a change in orientational order of the underlying nematic structure S and the relation between the macroscopic strain and S is explained on the basis of the anisotropic Gaussian chain network model. The helical pitch varies with the film thickness in an affine manner under temperature variation. The CLCEs under the constrained geometry where thermal deformation is strictly prohibited show no shift of the reflection bands when subjected to temperature variation. This also reveals the strong correlation between the macroscopic dimensions and the pitch of the helical director configuration.