The term liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) describes a class of materials that combine the elastic entropy behaviour associated with conventional elastomers with the stimuli responsive properties of anisotropic liquid crystals. LCEs consequently exhibit attributes of both elastomers and liquid crystals, but additionally have unique properties not found in either. Recent developments in LCE synthesis, as well as the understanding of the behaviour of liquid crystal elastomers—namely their mechanical, optical and responsive properties—is of significant relevance to biology and biomedicine. LCEs are abundant in nature, highlighting the potential use of LCEs in biomimetics. Their exceptional tensile properties and biocompatibility have led to research exploring their applications in artificial tissue, biological sensors and cell scaffolds by exploiting their actuation and shock absorption properties. There has also been significant recent interest in using LCEs as a model for morphogenesis. This review provides an overview of some aspects of LCEs which are of relevance in different branches of biology and biomedicine, as well as discussing how recent LCE advances could impact future applications.

Synthetic materials that are auxetic (negative Poisson's ratio) at a molecular level have long been sought after. An auxetic liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) was reported recently, but the physical origin of the behavior has remained unclear. Here, we explain the physics behind the auxetic response of a uniaxial LCE under strain by the emergence of biaxial order. Our study relies on understanding order parameters (OPs), determined via Raman scattering, for LCEs strained either parallel or perpendicular to the director and explaining their relevance in terms of existing LCE theory. In particular, we consider a 3D interpretation of the orientational distribution function. We use uniaxial and biaxial models to deduce that (i) a changing nematic order drives the mechanical Fréedericksz transition (MFT), (ii) the apparent semi-soft elasticity exhibited by this LCE is related to this change in order, (iii) there is also an emergence of biaxial order in the LCE, and (iv) the emergence of biaxiality explains the auxetic response. Uniaxial OPs, $\langle P_{200}\rangle$ and $\langle P_{400}\rangle$, initially take values of 0.6 and 0.3 and, for strains parallel to the director, increase by 20%. For perpendicular strains, the OPs reduce dramatically with increasing strain, becoming zero at the MFT, where the director reorients to align with the strain axis; the auxetic behavior emerges in the same strain regime. Our explanation identifies key parameters in determining the requirements for auxetic behavior in LCEs.

Auxetic materials exhibit a negative Poisson’s ratio, i.e., they become thicker rather than thinner in at least one dimension when strained. Recently, a nematic liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) was shown to be the first synthetic auxetic material at a molecular level. Understanding the mechanism of the auxetic response in LCEs is clearly important, and it has been suggested through detailed Raman scattering studies that it is related to the reduction of uniaxial order and emergence of biaxial order on strain. In this paper, we demonstrate direct observation of the biaxial order in an auxetic LCE under strain. We fabricated ~100 μm thick LCE strips with complementary geometries, exhibiting either planar or homeotropic alignment, in which the auxetic response is seen in the thickness or width of the sample, respectively. Polarized Raman scattering measurements on the planar sample show directly the reduction in the uniaxial order parameters on strain and suggest the emergence of biaxial order to mediate the auxetic response in the sample thickness. The homeotropic sample is studied via conoscopy, allowing direct observation of both the auxetic response in the width of the sample and increasing biaxiality in the LCE as it is strained. We verified that the mechanism of the auxetic response in auxetic LCEs is due to the emergence of the biaxial order and conclude such materials can be added to the small number of biaxial nematic systems that have been observed. Importantly, we also show that the mechanical Frèedericksz transition seen in some LCEs is consistent with a strain-induced transition from an optically positive to an optically negative biaxial system under strain, rather than a director rotation in a uniaxial system.

Determining the tunability of the optical coefficients, order parameter, and transition temperatures in optically transparent auxetic liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) is vital for applications, including impact-resistant glass laminates. Here, we report measurements of the refractive indices, order parameters, and transition temperatures in a family of acrylate-based LCEs in which the mesogenic content varies from ∼50 to ∼85%. Modifications in the precursor mixture allow the order parameter, ⟨P₂⟩, of the LCE to be adjusted from 0.46 to 0.73. The extraordinary refractive index changes most significantly with composition, from ∼1.66 to ∼1.69, in moving from a low to high mesogenic content. We demonstrate that all LCE refractive indices decrease with increasing temperature, with temperature coefficients of ∼10^-4 K^-1, comparable to optical plastics. In these LCEs, the average refractive index and the refractive index anisotropy are tunable via both chemical composition and order parameter control; we report design rules for both.