%0 journal article
%@ 1438-7492
%A Melchert, C., Behl, M., Noechel, U., Lendlein, A.

%D 2012
%J Macromolecular Materials and Engineering
%N 12
%P 1203-1212 
%R doi:10.1002/mame.201200238
%T Influence of Comesogens on the Thermal and Actuation Properties of 2-tert-Butyl-1,4-bis[4-(4-pentenyloxy)benzoyl]hydroquinone Based Nematic Main-Chain Liquid Crystalline Elastomers
%U https://doi.org/10.1002/mame.201200238
12 
%X Although the shape-changing capabilities of LCEs hold great potential for applications ranging from micropumps to artificial muscles, customization of the LCE functionality to the applications' requirements is still a challenge. It is studied whether the orientation of NMC-LCPs and NMC-LCEs based on 2-tert-butyl-1,4-bis[4-(4-pentenyloxy)benzoyl]hydroquinone can be enhanced by copolymerization with 2-methyl-1,4-bis[4-(4-pentenyloxy)benzoyl]hydroquinone or 2,6-bis[4-(4-pentenyl-oxy)-benzoyl]anthracene. An increasing content of the comonomers stabilizes the nematic phase, which enables a tailoring of TNI for the NMC-LCP between 45 and 68 °C, while for the NMC-LCE TNI ranges between 69 and 76 °C. In addition, NMC-LCE show an increased actuation performance.