Smectic A Elastomers with Uniform Homeotropic Orientation Obtained by Applying a Biaxial Mechanical Field

Summary: The orientation behavior of a smectic A elastomer is investigated by applying a biaxial mechanical field to the elastomer in a swollen state. The network is composed of a siloxane‐polymer backbone, a bi‐functional cross‐linker, and a monomer with a perfluorinated tail. In this work, biaxial deformation is successfully achieved to macroscopically orient the smectic A phase in a uniform, homeotropic fashion. We describe the orientation process in detail and discuss the microstructure of the smectic A phase organized in the monomer, the linear polymer, and the elastomer determined by using X‐ray diffraction data. A photograph of the oriented smectic A elastomer E4F (above) and a schematic model of its homeotropic orientation (below). image A photograph of the oriented smectic A elastomer E4F (above) and a schematic model of its homeotropic orientation (below).