ABSTRACT

Morphological properties of surfaces play a key role in natural and man-madeobjects. The development of robust methods to fabricate micro/nano surfacestructures has been a long pursuit. Herein, an approach based on molecularself-assembling of liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) is presented to directlytranslate D molecular director profiles obtained by a photoalignmentprocedure into D topographies, without involving further multi-steplithographic processes. The principle of surface deformation from a flatmorphology into complex topographies is based on the coupling betweenelectrostatic interactions and the anisotropic flow in LCPs. When activated byan electric field, the LCP melts and is driven by electrohydrodynamicinstabilities to connect the electrode plates of a capacitor, inducingtopographies governed by the director profile of the LCP. Upon switching othe electric field, the formed structures vitrify as the temperature decreasesbelow the glass transition. When heated, the process is reversible as theformed topographies disappear. By pre-programming the molecular director avariety of structures could be made with increasing complexity. The height,pitch, and the aspect ratio of the textures are further regulated by theconditions of the applied electric field. The proposed approach will open newopportunities for optical and electrical applications

KEYWORDS

dielectric structuring, dynamic surface topographies, imprinted polymer flow pattern, liquid crystal polymer

DOI: 10.1002/advs.202004749

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• smart coating

  smart coating

  
  

• switchable topology

  switchable topology

  
  

• liquid crystal polymer

  liquid crystal polymer

  
  

• thermoresponsive

  thermoresponsive

• dynamic surface

  dynamic surface

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