Iron oxide nanoparticle-containing main-chain liquid crystalline elastomer: towards soft magnetoactive networks

A hybrid polymeric network has been achieved by using pre-functionalized 3.3 nm diameter iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) as cross-linkers to reticulate mesogenic linear oligomers. A room-temperature smectic mesophase is induced in the network embedding NPs, and the magnetic properties remain almost unchanged, despite substantial changes of the environment around the ferrite cores.