ELFT HÍRADÓ

[Szeminárium koordinátor <sem-admin AT szfki.hu>]

SZFI SeminarJákli AntalWigner FK, SZFI / Kent State University, USA (host: 
Salamon Péter)Swollen liquid crystal elastomers as electric actuators, 
sensors, transistors and batteriesTuesday, 5 August 2025, 10:00, KFKI Campus, 
Bldg. 1, 2nd floor, Conference RoomAfter describing the basics of liquid 
crystal elastomers, I will show that swollen by low molecular weight liquid 
crystals or ionic liquids, they can be used for various applications. First I 
will show that depositing small droplets of low molecular weight liquid 
crystal on liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) films leads to shape changes and 
bending actuation.1 The swelling-induced pre-programmable shapes may lead to 
applications in sealants, soft robotics and biomedical devices. Second, I 
will describe LCEs swollen by ionic liquids (iLCEs). If the size of the 
anions and cations are different, then iLCEs can be actuated by low-frequency 
AC or DC voltages of less than 1 V.2 The inverse of the effect, i.e., 
mechanical deformation-induced electric signal (flexo-ionic effect), was 
found to be orders of magnitude higher than the flexo-electric coefficient 
found in insulating liquid crystals and is comparable to ionic electroactive 
polymers (iEAPs).3 Additionally, I will discuss that iLCEs can be used as a 
solid electrolyte for organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs).4 The 
normalised maximum transconductance was found to be one of the highest among 
all solid-state-based OECTs reported so far. Finally, I will briefly describe 
the use of iLCEs as electrolyte components in lithium-ion batteries.5 The 
rubbery state ensures good interfacial contact with electrodes that inhibits 
lithium dendrite formation and, in contrast to liquid electrolytes, the iLCE 
shrinks upon heating, thus preventing any overheating-related 
explosions.References:1 M. Kodithuwakku Arachchige, R. Dharmarathna, P. 
Fleischer and A. Jákli, Macromol Rapid Commun, DOI:10.1002/marc.202500178.2 
C. Feng, C. P. H. Rajapaksha, J. M. Cedillo, C. Piedrahita, J. Cao, V. 
Kaphle, B. Lussem, T. Kyu and A. I. Jákli, Macromol. Rapid Commun., 2019, 
1900299.3 C. P. H. Rajapaksha, M. D. T. Gunathilaka, S. Narute, H. 
Albehaijan, C. Piedrahita, P. Paudel, C. Feng, B. Lüssem, T. Kyu and A. 
Jákli, Molecules, 2021, 26, 4234.4 C. P. Hemantha Rajapaksha, P. R. Paudel, 
P. M. S. G. Kodikara, D. Dahal, T. M. Dassanayake, V. Kaphle, B. Lüssem and 
A. Jákli, Appl Phys Rev, 2022, 9, 011415.5 Z. Siddiquee, H. Lee, W. Xu, T. 
Kyu and A. Jákli, Batteries, DOI:10.3390/batteries11030106. Minden 
érdeklődőt szívesen látunk! - Everyone is welcome to attend.Attila 
Nagysem-admin AT szfki.hu