Das Avijit, McCracken Joselle M, Saeed Mohsin Hassan, Nepal Dhriti, White Timothy J
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 596 UCB, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA.
Air Force Research Laboratory, Composite Materials Branch, 2941 Hobson Way, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, 4543-7750, USA.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2025 Jul;64(27):e202505300. doi: 10.1002/anie.202505300. Epub 2025 May 12.
Photodriven liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE) composites with thiol-functionalized Ti₃C₂T MXene nanosheets are introduced as a versatile material system for achieving controlled aquatic locomotion. By incorporating superhydrophobic or superhydrophilic coatings, these composites demonstrate distinct modalities at the air-water interface and underwater. The stimuli-responsive behavior of the LCE nanocomposites is enhanced through the homogeneous dispersion of MXene platelets within the LCE matrix, facilitated by thiol-functionalization. Superhydrophobic coatings increase buoyancy and reduce drag, enabling locomotion akin to water striders at the air-water interface. Conversely, superhydrophilic coatings submerse the composites to allow photomechanical actuation to drive underwater locomotion against gravity. By combining tunable wettability with robust photothermal performance, these MXene-LCE composites open new opportunities for designing and integrating stimuli-responsive materials in aquatic actuation systems.
引入了具有硫醇功能化Ti₃C₂T MXene纳米片的光驱动液晶弹性体（LCE）复合材料，作为实现可控水上运动的通用材料体系。通过结合超疏水或超亲水涂层，这些复合材料在空气-水界面和水下展现出不同的运动模式。通过硫醇功能化促进MXene薄片在LCE基质中的均匀分散，增强了LCE纳米复合材料的刺激响应行为。超疏水涂层增加浮力并减少阻力，使复合材料在空气-水界面能够像水黾一样运动。相反，超亲水涂层使复合材料下沉，从而实现光机械驱动以对抗重力驱动水下运动。通过将可调润湿性与强大的光热性能相结合，这些MXene-LCE复合材料为在水生驱动系统中设计和集成刺激响应材料开辟了新机遇。
