On the origin of elasticity and heat conduction anisotropy of liquid crystal elastomers at gigahertz frequencies

Liquid crystal elastomers that offer exceptional load-deformation response at low frequencies often require consideration of the mechanical anisotropy only along the two symmetry directions. However, emerging applications operating at high frequencies require all five true elastic constants. Here, we utilize Brillouin light spectroscopy to obtain the engineering moduli and probe the strain dependence of the elasticity anisotropy at gigahertz frequencies. The Young’s modulus anisotropy, E(||)/E(⊥)~2.6, is unexpectedly lower than that measured by tensile testing, suggesting disparity between the local mesogenic orientation and the larger scale orientation of the network strands. Unprecedented is the robustness of E(||)/E(⊥) to uniaxial load that it does not comply with continuously transformable director orientation observed in the tensile testing. Likewise, the heat conductivity is directional, κ(||)/κ(⊥)~3.0 with κ(⊥) = 0.16 Wm(−1)K(−1). Conceptually, this work reveals the different length scales involved in the thermoelastic anisotropy and provides insights for programming liquid crystal elastomers on-demand for high-frequency applications.