Nano Energy
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2022
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IF 19.069
Yiding Zhong,Wei Tang,Chao Zhang,Zhongdong Jiao,Dongming Wu,Weiting Liu,Huayong Yang,Jun Zou
Soft robots have unique advantages in the fields including human-machine interaction and bionics, yet there remain persistent challenges in developing multifunctional, programmable, and high-performance soft actuators. Here, we introduce a class of programmable thermochromic soft actuators (PTSAs) through liquid–vapor phase transitions, which can deform greatly through extreme volume change accompanying reversible liquid-vapor phase transition of embedded low boiling point fluid, and change several colors through reversible reactions of embedded thermochromic microcapsules. Using a "two dimensional" architecture, the initial shape and deformation type of the actuator with three different modes can be easily programmed. Respond to multiple stimuli, PTSAs have a variety of optional actuating methods including external heating, Joule heating, magnetic induction heating, and magnetic actuating. The suitable operating temperature and stretchability allows PTSAs to be used in wearable devices . Using PTSAs, a range of applications including color-shifting curly biomimetic maple leaves, color-shifting twisting biomimetic vines, zero-power holding and visually temperature sensing soft grippers, untethered magnetically actuated camouflage soft robots, and blood pressure sensing wristband are demonstrated, illustrating their broad prospects for applications in soft robotics, wearable devices, camouflage, and bionics.
研究领域:
软体机器人
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材料科学
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仿生学
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可穿戴设备
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
·
2023
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IF 9.5
Yahao Liu,Yuansheng Wang,Xue Yang,Wei Huang,Yu Zhang,Xiao Zhang,Xuan Wang
Stiffness variable polymers are an essential family of materials that have aroused considerable attention in soft actuators. Although lots of strategies have been proposed to achieve variable stiffness, it remains a formidable challenge to achieve a polymer with a wide stiffness range and fast stiffness change. Herein, a series of variable stiffness polymers with a fast stiffness change and wide stiffness range were successfully synthesized, and the formulas were optimized via Pearson correlation tests. The rigid/soft stiffness ratio of the designed polymer samples can reach up to 1376-folds. Impressively, owing to the phase-changing side chains, the narrow endothermic peak can be observed with full width at half-maximum within 5 °C. Moreover, the shape memory properties of the shape fixity (Rf) and shape recovery ratio (Rr) values of the shape memory properties could reach up to 99.3 and 99.2%, respectively. Then, the obtained polymer was introduced into a kind of designed 3D printing soft actuator. The soft actuator can achieve sharp heating–cooling cycle of 19 s under a 1.2 A current with 4 °C water as coolant and can lift a 200 g weight at the actuating state. Moreover, the stiffness of the soft actuator can reach up to 718 mN/mm. The soft actuator exhibits an outstanding actuate behavior and stiffness switchable capability. We expect our design strategy and obtained variable stiffness polymers to be potentially applied in soft actuators and other devices.
研究领域:
材料科学
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软体机器人学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Advanced Materials Technologies
·
2024
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IF 6.4
Yunlong Gao,Shikun Lin,Chuanwei Liang,Siqi Qiu,Chengyun Long,Yingjun Wang,Yunquan Li,Yuan-Fang Zhang
Soft robots have excellent spatial adaptability and high flexibility, but they are limited by the low stiffness of their constituent materials when faced with high-load tasks. In recent years, there have been many works on the development of stiffness-tunable soft actuators by introducing variable stiffness materials into soft actuators, but the existing solutions usually suffer from the problems of slow response, complex structure, and the need of many auxiliary devices to support the completion of the stiffness tuning cycle. This paper proposes a tendon-driven stiffness-tunable soft actuator that addresses these issues. Benefiting from the bidirectional temperature control of thermoelectric modules and the excellent in-plane thermal conductivity of graphene, the actuator is capable of achieving the heating and cooling process by transferring the heat flow through the graphene structure into and out of the shape-memory polymer (SMP) layer of the tendon-driven actuator. This enables stiffness tuning via a single device, reducing the dependence on complex external cooling systems. The use of tendon-driven actuators further eliminates the complex bellow structure of conventional pneumatic actuators and dramatically reduces the size and manufacturing difficulty of individual actuators. Finally, the high load capacity and shape adaptability of the actuator are demonstrated by a gripper equipped with three actuators, which successfully grips objects of various shapes and weights, ranging from less than 10 g to up to 1.6 kg.
研究领域:
机器人学
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材料科学
✓ 已验证
DOI
高影响因子
MECHANICS OF ADVANCED MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES
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2025
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IF 0
Jiayu Tian,Chenzhe Li,Ying Zhao
Three-dimensional (3D) soft actuators capable of 3D-to-3D shape morphing have garnered significant research interest. However, realizing multifunctional capabilities remains challenging, as most existing designs are limited to transformations between geometrically similar 3D shapes. To address this limitation, this article presents the design and fabrication of a 3D soft actuator capable of morphing between geometrically dissimilar 3D shapes. The actuator features a bilayer structure fabricated by bonding a liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) layer onto a pre-stretched elastomer substrate. Independent control over the substrate’s pre-stretch direction and the LCE’s alignment direction enables programmable 3D-to-3D shape transformations between dissimilar modes, such as bending-to-twisting or twisting-to-bending. The practical utility of morphing between dissimilar shapes is demonstrated via two applications: a multifunctional 3D gripper performing both grasping and winding, and a soft actuator facilitating directional object manipulation. This work overcomes the restriction of similar deformation modes inherent in many existing actuators, offering enhanced design flexibility for tailoring initial and actuated configurations to specific application requirements.
研究领域:
软体机器人
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智能材料
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执行器技术
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形状变形
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材料科学
✓ 已验证
DOI
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
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2024
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IF 13.3
Zhiwen Sun,Changyou Shao,Sanwei Hao,Jifei Zhang,Jiaxuan Zhu,Wenfeng Ren,Bing Wang,Jun Yang,Runcang Sun
Utilizing renewable biomass as an alternative to petroleum-based products for the development of smart materials emerges as a pivotal strategy for sustainable development. However, the straightforward, rapid, and cost-effective deployment of biomass for novel smart material synthesis remains a formidable challenge. Herein, we employ a facile solvent-free one-pot strategy to develop a multifunctional smart biomass photothermal elastomer, which synthesized from the natural small molecule of α-lipoic acid (LA) and renewable lignin biopolymer without any chemical modification. The incorporation of lignin confers to the obtained elastomers superior mechanical strength, photothermal responsiveness, photothermal self-healing, and adhesive capabilities. Notably, the photothermal elastomers can be fully recycled and reused by simple thermal remodeling. As a proof of concept, the temperature difference generator can be driven to generate electricity utilizing the excellent photothermal effect of elastomers, highlighting its excellent light-heat-electricity conversion capability. Intriguingly, the photothermal elastomers exhibit light-driven shape memory effect, enabling to grasp objects by shape-programmed four-arm soft gripper under selective irradiation. This pioneering work not only demonstrates significant progress in high-value utilization of bio-derived lignin, but also opens up a new avenue for sustainable and innovative applications in advanced energy management devices and soft actuators.
研究领域:
材料科学
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可持续化学
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智能材料
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能量转换
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软机器人
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
Materials Today Communications
·
2023
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IF 3.8
Shuhe Wei,Yan Xiao,Hanwen Jiang,Frédéric Héraly,Liangshun Zhang,Wanyi Huang,Jiayin Yuan,Meidong Lang
Soft actuators capable of large and swift locomotion in combination with biocompatibility hold great potential in medicine and healthcare applications. In this contribution, a polypeptide-type poly(ionic liquid) (termed “PLL-PMIM-Tf 2 N”) was designed and synthesized by post-polymerization modification of poly- L -lysine; Next, via controlled electrostatic complexation with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) or poly( L -glutamic acid) (PLG), porous membrane actuators termed PLL-PMIM-Tf 2 N/PAA or PLL-PMIM-Tf 2 N/PLG, respectively, were tailor-made. Hemolytic tests support excellent blood cell compatibility of the fully polypeptide-based PLL-PMIM-Tf 2 N/PLG actuator. The as-made soft actuators could bend significantly up to 500°with a maximum curvature of 7 cm −1 in response to solvent vapor in a fast actuation process within 2 s. Their high sensitivity towards solvent molecules equips them with skills to distinguish solvent isomers, as exemplified by butanol isomers, in terms of bending curvature due to varied molecular interactions between the actuator and the isomer. To be highlighted is an unusual irreversible actuated tubular state of the fully polypeptide-based PLL-PMIM-Tf 2 N/PLG actuator that is stable in shape and resembles bionic blood vessels. Such polypeptide-type poly(ionic liquid) actuators are of significant value in future development of biocompatible devices for medical and healthcare applications.
研究领域:
材料科学
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生物医学工程
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化学
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生物材料
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
DYES AND PIGMENTS
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2022
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IF 5.122
Xiaozhen Xiao,Guiqiang Yang,Anbei Chen,Zhiyu Zheng,Chao Zhang,Yang Zhang,Liqiong Liao
In this work, deformable and chromatic hydrogel triggered by multi-stimuli was fabricated. This hydrogel was composed of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm), acryl-6-aminocaproic acid (A6ACA), and spiropyran (SP) derivatives, which possessed ferric ion (Fe 3+ ) and temperature-triggered shape deformations properties as well as chromatic behavior. Under ultraviolet light irradiation, the SP isomer in the hydrogel transformed to the merocyanine (MC) isomer, and the hydrogel showed the characteristic UV–Vis absorption peak of MC at 540 nm. The hydrogel revealed the selective chromatic response to Fe 3+ with the disappearance of the absorption peak of MC. Using ionoprinting technology, the hydrogel deformed programmatically in the presence of Fe 3+ . Moreover, owing to the anisotropic structure of the chromatic hydrogel, it realized reversible bending deformation triggered by temperature. The behaviors of hydrogels in response to dual stimuli (Fe 3+ and temperature) were further investigated, and the hydrogel showed programmable, spatiotemporal, and complex deformation behaviors , accompanying by the color change. This hydrogel will have great application potential in soft robotics, soft actuators, and environmental sensors.
研究领域:
材料科学
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化学
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软体机器人
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环境科学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
ACS Applied Polymer Materials
·
2023
·
IF 5
Jingyi Zhang,Yu Wang,Yuxi Sun,Shuaishuai Sun,Zhenbang Xu,Jun Li,Ji Li,Xinglong Gong
The soft actuators capable of responding to multiple stimuli and adapting to changing environments have attracted growing interest in the flexible multifunctional materials. However, how to achieve high degree of freedom (DoF), precise control, and complex shape transformation of the multi-stimuli responsive soft actuator, still remains challenging. Here, we report a multi-responsive soft actuator with various controllable sophisticated deformations by integrating a magnetically sensitive elastomer (MSE) with a liquid crystal elastomer (LCE). Through regulating the stimuli strength and the geometrical dimensions and material parameters of elastomers, the bending angle and curling curvature of the actuator are accurately controlled ranging from 0 to 58.9° and from 0.23 to 1.29 cm–1, respectively. The facile material-structural synergistic design drives the complex 3D shape deformations (e.g., bidirectional bending, shrinkage/bending, rolling/bending, and twisting/bending) of the actuator. More importantly, due to its photosensitive characteristics, the shape-morphing of the actuator can be manipulated locally and sequentially, which markedly enriches the DoFs. The flower-shaped actuator displays multiple deformation modes, and the hand-shaped actuator transforms between 8 gestures under the control of laser and magnetic field, proving that the multi-responsive soft actuators have great application potentials in future bioengineering, soft manipulators, and flexible electronics.
研究领域:
材料科学
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机器人技术
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生物医学工程
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机械工程
·
软物质物理
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）