Light-modulated liquid crystal elastomer actuator with multimodal shape morphing and multifunction

Abstract

Stimuli-responsive materials provide an attractive platform to design and build distinguished soft robots that can dynamically change their shapes to adapt for a variety of functions. However, in the most...

Bioinspired near-infrared light-induced ultrafast soft actuators with tunable deformation and motion based on conjugated polymers/liquid crystal elastomers

“…The twisting deformation of a soft CPs/LCE actuator could generate incompatible strain to propel the actuator roll forward. Compared with other millimeter-scale NIR light-induced soft actuators reported in the literature, 6,[47][48][49][50] the CPs/LCE actuators proposed here exhibit a faster response time (within 1 s), more significant deformation potential (1801 bending angle) and higher locomotion speed (0.47 mm s À1 ).…”

“…[1][2][3][4] For example, self-bending in mimosa leaves and hominid hands and twisting directionality in cucumber plants have inspired enormous intelligent system studies. 5,6 A lot of effort has been committed to developing bionic actuators with morphological control of different dimensions (from 0D to 3D) and sophisticated mechanical locomotion. The development of diverse shape-changing polymer systems significantly advances the creation of untethered soft actuators for complex motion and adaption to environmental confinement.…”

Photothermal-Driven Liquid Crystal Elastomers: Materials, Alignment and Applications

“…Crawling is one of the simplest modes of movement. Photothermal-driven LCE soft robots can crawl in complex and extreme environments because of the softness of the body [ 7 , 27 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 ]. In addition, the robots can be made smaller because they do not need to carry a power source like traditional robots, as light can provide energy remotely.…”

Optical wavelength selective actuation of dye doped liquid crystalline elastomers by quasi-daylight

“…They are characterized by the combination of LC orientational ordering and the rubbery elasticity of polymer networks, which creates unique properties, such as self-organization, active stimuliresponse, reversible phase transition, reversible and large anisotropic shape change under the imposed external stimuli, programmable morphing performance, etc. [1][2][3][4][5][6] These fascinating properties together with the other advantages, such as low weight, tailorable softness of the material, better compatibility with biologic tissues, etc., make the LCE materials an excellent candidate for a wide range of applications, such as smart actuators, [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] artificial muscles, [20][21][22][23][24][25][26] soft robots, [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] biomimetic devices, [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] etc.…”

“…1–6 These fascinating properties together with the other advantages, such as low weight, tailorable softness of the material, better compatibility with biologic tissues, etc. , make the LCE materials an excellent candidate for a wide range of applications, such as smart actuators, 7–19 artificial muscles, 20–26 soft robots, 27–34 biomimetic devices, 35–44 etc.…”