Intrinsic carbon nanotube liquid crystalline elastomer photoactuators for high-definition biomechanics

Abstract

, which significantly enhanced the mechanical and photothermal properties of the photoresponsive elastomer. When embedding an ultralow loading of CNTs (0.1 wt%), the tensile strength of the LCE increased by 420% to 13.89 MPa (||) and 530% to 3.94 MPa (⊥) and exhibited a stable response to repeated alternating cooling and heating cycles, as well as repeated UV and infrared irradiation. Furthermore, the shape transformation, locomotion, and photo-actuation capabilities allow the CNT/LCE actuator to be applied in high-definition biomechanical applications, such as phototactic flowers, serpentine robots and artificial muscles. This design strategy may provide a promising method to manufacture high-precision, remote-control smart devices.