Magnetoactive elastomers are composite materials whose physical properties change under the influence of an external magnetic field. In the absence of magnetic field, they are elastic, while in magnetic field they become plastic. Based on this phenomenom, shape memory effect can be achieved. Within my master's thesis, I analyzed the shape memory effect on the surface of magnetoactive elastomers. I embossed a periodic microstructure on the surface and analyzed optical diffraction from it as a function of the magnetic field. Based on those results, I obtained information on the depth of the imprinted structure as a function of the magnetic field and on the time dependence of surface restructuring after a rapid switch-off of the magnetic field. I found that the microstructural changes behave similarly to those previously observed on macroscopic samples.
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