Liquid Crystal Elastomer Micron-Rings with Pre-Designed Molecular Orientations*

Mechanical responses of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) to external stimuli are pre-programmable by predesigning molecular orientations, promising applications such as sensors and actuators and micro robotics. Recently we have developed capabilities to photopatterning arbitrary molecular orientations with high spatial resolutions and to fabricating LCEs with well-defined geometric shapes and predesigned 3D molecular orientations. In this talk, we will present studies on LCE micro-rings, especially on how their mechanical deformations and dynamics are affected by their molecular orientations and geometric shapes.