Yang Guang, Dong Lizhong, Ren Ming, Cui Bo, Yuan Xiaojie, Wang Xiaobo, Li Yuxin, Li Wei, Qiao Guanlong, Shao Yunfeng, Li Weiwei, Wang Xiaona, Xu Panpan, Fang Hongbin, Di Jiangtao, Li Qingwen
School of Nano-Technology and Nano-Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.
Advanced Materials Division, Key Laboratory of Multifunctional Nanomaterials and Smart Systems, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China.
Nano Lett. 2024 Aug 7;24(31):9608-9616. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c02239. Epub 2024 Jul 16.
Fibers of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) as promising artificial muscle show ultralarge and reversible contractile strokes. However, the contractile force is limited by the poor mechanical properties of the LCE fibers. Herein, we report high-strength LCE fibers by introducing a secondary network into the single-network LCE. The double-network LCE (DNLCE) shows considerable improvements in tensile strength (313.9%) and maximum actuation stress (342.8%) compared to pristine LCE. To facilitate the controllability and application, a coiled artificial muscle fiber consisting of DNLCE-coated carbon nanotube (CNT) fiber is prepared. When electrothermally driven, the artificial muscle fiber outputs a high actuation performance and programmable actuation. Furthermore, by knitting the artificial muscle fibers into origami structures, an intelligent gripper and crawling inchworm robot have been demonstrated. These demonstrations provide promising application scenarios for advanced intelligent systems in the future.
作为一种很有前景的人造肌肉，液晶弹性体（LCE）纤维展现出超大且可逆的收缩行程。然而，LCE纤维较差的机械性能限制了其收缩力。在此，我们通过在单网络LCE中引入二级网络来制备高强度LCE纤维。与原始LCE相比，双网络LCE（DNLCE）在拉伸强度（提高313.9%）和最大驱动应力（提高342.8%）方面有显著提升。为便于控制和应用，制备了一种由涂覆有DNLCE的碳纳米管（CNT）纤维组成的螺旋状人造肌肉纤维。当进行电热驱动时，该人造肌肉纤维输出高驱动性能和可编程驱动。此外，通过将人造肌肉纤维编织成折纸结构，展示了一种智能夹具和爬行尺蠖机器人。这些展示为未来先进智能系统提供了很有前景的应用场景。
