Xiao Youhua, Mao Jie, Shan Yejie, Yang Tao, Chen Zheqi, Zhou Fanghao, He Jin, Shen Youqing, Zhao Junjie, Li Tiefeng, Luo Yingwu
The State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, 310027, China.
Nanoscale. 2020 Apr 14;12(14):7514-7521. doi: 10.1039/d0nr00924e. Epub 2020 Mar 26.
Dielectric elastomers (DEs) are promising electroactive artificial muscles for use in soft machines. However, achieving anisotropy and sub-kV actuation voltage remains a great challenge for DE actuators. Herein, we report a facile method to fabricate ultrathin anisotropic DE films of an amorphous triblock copolymer poly(styrene-b-butyl acrylate-b-styrene) (SBAS) for soft actuators. The modulus of anisotropic SBAS in one direction can be modulated from 0.3 MPa to 10.5 MPa, and the modulus in the orthogonal direction remains the same as that of the pristine film (0.3 MPa). The anisotropy endows soft DE actuators with the directional-preferred response to an applied electric field and programmable multiple actuation morphs. These anisotropic SBAS films allowed us to fabricate compact soft robotics with high maneuverability, including soft grippers for object manipulation and crawling robots with reversible moving ability under an actuation voltage around 800 V.
介电弹性体（DEs）是用于软机器的很有前景的电活性人工肌肉。然而，实现各向异性和低于千伏的驱动电压对DE致动器来说仍然是一个巨大的挑战。在此，我们报道了一种简便的方法，用于制造用于软致动器的非晶态三嵌段共聚物聚（苯乙烯-丙烯酸丁酯-苯乙烯）（SBAS）的超薄各向异性DE薄膜。各向异性SBAS在一个方向上的模量可以从0.3兆帕调制到10.5兆帕，而在正交方向上的模量与原始薄膜的模量相同（0.3兆帕）。这种各向异性赋予软DE致动器对施加电场的方向优先响应和可编程的多种驱动形态。这些各向异性SBAS薄膜使我们能够制造出具有高机动性的紧凑型软机器人，包括用于物体操纵的软夹爪和在800伏左右的驱动电压下具有可逆移动能力的爬行机器人。
