Multi‐Stimuli, Large‐Stroke Hybrid Carbon Fiber‐Based Artificial Muscles

Abstract

Although advances in twisted and coiled carbon nanotube (CNT) artificial muscles have accelerated the developments of soft robotics, haptics, and exoskeletons, the high cost of CNT limits its practical application. Here, a low‐cost, silicone‐infiltrated carbon fiber‐based artificial muscle is proposed, which is solvent‐absorption, electrothermally, and photothermally controllable. When driven by solvent absorption, these muscles generate a contractile stroke of 36.7% and a work capacity of 419 J kg−1 (≈10 times that of human skeletal muscle), which can lift >5000 times their own weight. Moreover, an electrothermally and photothermally powered carbon fiber muscle generates a work capacity of 124.4 and 302 J kg−1, which is 3.8 and 9 times that of human skeletal muscle. Potential applications of these carbon fiber muscles are demonstrated for a solvent‐absorption‐powered intelligent curtain and an electrothermally driven bionic robotic arm.

Fully Biosourced, Vulcanization-Free, and Thermal-Responsive Natural Rubber Material

“…As proof of the concept, a 0.4 g NR/KC band with an initial length of 6 cm is stretched to 40 cm by hanging a 100 g weight (Figure c and Movie S1). The weight can be easily lifted under the hot air blowing, demonstrating the thermal-responsive retraction behavior of NR/KC with a power density of 637J/kg, which is 50 times higher than that of mammalian muscle and also performs well in other studies of artificial muscles in Figure d. − Similarly, in Figures S5 and S6, the muscle-mimicking retraction function of NR/KC after adding nigrosin can also be triggered by electricity or infrared laser based on the joule heating effect or photothermal effect, respectively (Movies S2 and S3). These demonstrations show the scalability and great potential of NR/KC in thermal-responsive applications.…”