Scheme 1
(a) The summary of ‘double-click’ chemistry: the mesogenic di-acrylate (RM82) first reacts with di-thiol (EDDT), which is in excess. Following that, the thiol-terminated oligomer chains are photo-polymerized with the vinyl bonds of the ring-siloxane, leading to the permanent network with 4-functional crosslinks. (b) The general scheme of siloxane exchange enabled by acid or base catalyst. (b) The principal route of siloxane exchange in our networks: the siloxanolate catalyst (TMA-Si) breaks the ring and terminates the linear 4-functional siloxane crosslink segment.
