Title: Multi-Stimuli Responsive Bionic Actuators Constructed by Linear Liquid Crystal Polymers

Author: Yu Pu, Xiaoyu Zhang, Xiaojun Liu,  Xin Zhao, Ziyue Yang,  Yanlei Yu*

Journal: Transactions of Materials Research, 2025, 100003

Abstract:

Liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) combine the entropic elasticity of polymers with the orderness of LC mesogens, demonstrating outstanding performance across diverse applications, particularly in bionic actuators. In contrast to the organisms that enable multi-stimuli responsibility, most LCP actuators reported thus far exhibit responsiveness to only a single stimulus, hence the fabrication of multi-stimuli responsive LCPs is of pronounced significance. Here, a novel multi-stimuli responsive LCP is developed by integrating ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and post-polymerization modification (PPM), which exhibits reversible responsiveness to humidity, light, and pH. By spray-coating the stretched polypropylene with LCP, the bilayer actuator loads exceed 20 times its weight upon exposure to light irradiation and moisture, showcasing exceptional output force. Furthermore, in response to the change in pH and humidity, the actuator exhibits behaviors akin to natural flowers, including blooming, closing, and color-changing. The strategy combining ROMP and PPM has proven to be a versatile strategy for the synthesis of multifunctional LCPs, offering transformative potential for the development of advanced bionic actuators and soft robotic systems.

论文链接：https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S3050914925000032

PDF下载：Multi-stimuli Responsive Bionic Actuators Constructed by Linear Liquid Crystal Polymers.pdf

液晶聚合物(LCPs)结合了聚合物的熵弹性和液晶介晶的有序性，在各种应用中，表现出了优异的性能，特别是在仿生致动器中。相比于多刺激响应的生物体，迄今为止报道的大多数液晶聚合物LCP致动器，仅对单一刺激表现出响应性，因此，多刺激响应的液晶聚合物LCP制造，具有显著的意义。本文将将开环易位聚合(ROMP)和聚合物后修饰(PPM)相结合，开发了一种新型的多刺激响应性液晶聚合物LCP，对湿度、光和pH，具有可逆的响应性。通过用液晶聚合物LCP喷涂拉伸的聚丙烯，在暴露于光照和湿气时，双层致动器负载超过本身重量的20倍，显示出了异常的输出力。响应于pH和湿度的变化，致动器表现出了类似于自然花的行为，包括开花、闭合和变色。结合开环易位聚合ROMP和聚合物后修饰PPM策略，证明是合成多功能液晶聚合物LCP的通用策略，这为开发先进的仿生驱动器和软机器人系统，提供了变革的潜力。