Dispersion and Alignment of Carbon Nanotubes in Liquid Crystalline Polymers and Elastomers

A new main-chain liquid crystalline polymer with pyrene end-caps is developed to greatly facilitate dispersion of carbon nanotubes in organic solvents. It also helps stabilize nanotubes in the bulk of a liquid crystalline elastomer matrix, where the tubes are aligned along the director axis. We use THz spectroscopy to characterize nanotube alignment and demonstrate the photo-actuation response of the composite. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.