A High‐Lift Micro‐Aerial‐Robot Powered by Low‐Voltage and Long‐Endurance Dielectric Elastomer Actuators (Adv. Mater. 7/2022)

Ren, Zhijian; Kim, Suhan; Ji, Xiang; Zhu, Weikun; Niroui, Farnaz; Kong, Jing; Chen, Yufeng

doi:10.1002/adma.202270051

Cited by 18 publications

(29 citation statements)

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“…Developing soft actuators like muscles that enable smart, controllable, and robust robot movement is a major challenge in bionic robotics . Smart electroactive polymers (EAPs) are able to change their shape and size under applied electric fields. , EAPs are widely used in actuators, artificial muscles, sensors, and microreactors and other advanced electromechanical (EM) devices, so they have attracted extensive attention of researchers as a kind of functional material. − The strain of traditional rigid piezoelectric ceramic EM materials under an electric field is usually less than 0.5%. In contrast, the strain generated by flexible EAPs is about 1 order of magnitude higher. − In order to make the soft actuators have fast response and high efficiency, efforts have focused on the EAPs represented by dielectric elastomers (DEs), − electrostrictive polymers, and ferroelectric and relaxor ferroelectric polymers (RFPs) − recently.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tuning the Ferroelectric Phase Transition of P(VDF-TrFE) through a Simple Approach of Modification by Introducing Double Bonds

et al. 2022

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Electroactive polymer (EAP) is a kind of intelligent material that, driven by external electric field, could produce changes in shape or volume. As an important class of EAP materials, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) based relaxor ferroelectric polymers show remarkable potential for applications in sensors, actuator, and artificial muscles because of their excellent electrostrictive properties. However, the strain of PVDF-based relaxor ferroelectrics relies strongly on a high electric field, which seriously damages their reliability and limits their practical applications as wearable devices. To explore more suitable materials for actuator applications, in this present work, we report the influences of a double bond (DB) on the electroactive properties of P(VDF-TrFE) (TrFE: trifluoroethylene). The crystalline phase of P(VDF-TrFE) is partially destroyed after the DB is introduced, and the molecular chain flexibility of the product P(VDF-TrFE-DB) can be greatly improved. Therefore, P(VDF-TrFE-DB) has a larger electric displacement while having a lower dipole orientation electric field compared with that of P(VDF-TrFE). The result confirms that the DB could tune the ferroelectric properties and effectively reduce the driving electric field of the PVDF-based relaxor ferroelectric polymers. This work offers a strategy for the preparation of novel EAPs with low driving electric fields.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tuning the Ferroelectric Phase Transition of P(VDF-TrFE) through a Simple Approach of Modification by Introducing Double Bonds

et al. 2022

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“…It was put into a vacuum oven for 2 h for solidification in order to reduce the existence of bubble. [ 54 ] The composite materials were obtained after demoulding (Figure S21, Supporting Information). And carbon greases with thickness ≈20 µm were coated onto both sides of the ADE as the compliant electrodes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Anisotropic Dielectric Elastomer Actuator with an Oriented Electrospun Nanofiber Composite Film

Zhang

Chen

Xing

et al. 2023

Adv Materials Technologies

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Anisotropic actuation, a universal phenomenon in nature, may be inspiring for the development of intelligent soft robotics in the future. For dielectric elastomers (DEs), important investigations have been done to decrease the voltage and increase the actuation strain. However, mechanical isotropy of synthetic DEs shows in‐plane uniform deformation, lacking the controllability of the actuation direction. Herein, an anisotropic DE (denoted as ADE) is constructed by casting Ecoflex/BaTiO3 solution onto oriented TPU nanofibrous membranes fabricated via drum electrospinning. The resulting ADE with a seamless three‐layer structure features mechanical anisotropy in the elastic modulus, with the maximum ratio between x and y directions of the plane being 11. A prototype ADE‐based actuator demonstrates a high electroactuation anisotropy of 3.95, a large unidirectional length strain of 15%, and a high energy density of 0.014 MJ m−3 at an electric field of 40 V µm−1. Two potential applications, a flow divider valve simulating the Transwell test in the medical field and a mechanical stimulus component mimicking the maturation of cardiomyocytes, are successfully demonstrated. Thus, this work offers a versatile yet simple approach for fabricating anisotropic electroactive elastomer actuators in the future.

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“…Recent advances in liquid crystalline (LC) azobenzene polymers offer a new class of light‐sensitive materials. [ 1–4 ] In general, these materials combine the elastic properties of polymers and the self‐organization of liquid crystals, [ 5 ] which make them able to change their shape in response to external stimuli, such as heat, [ 5 ] electric [ 6 ] or magnetic [ 7 ] fields. If this material contains photosensitive molecules, like azo dyes, its response can be triggered with light.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uni‐ and Bidirectional Rotation and Speed Control in Chiral Photonic Micromotors Powered by Light

Ussembayev

Witte

Liu

et al. 2023

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Liquid crystalline polymers are attractive materials for untethered miniature soft robots. When they contain azo dyes, they acquire light-responsive actuation properties. However, the manipulation of such photoresponsive polymers at the micrometer scale remains largely unexplored. Here, we report uni-and bidirectional rotation and speed control of polymerized azo-containing chiral liquid crystalline photonic microparticles powered by light. We first study the rotation of these polymer particles in an optical trap experimentally and theoretically. The micro-sized polymer particles respond to the handedness of a circularly polarized trapping laser due to their chirality and exhibit uni-and bidirectional rotation depending on their alignment within the optical tweezers. The attained optical torque causes the particles to spin with a rotation rate of several hertz. The angular speed can be controlled by small structural changes, induced by UV light absorption. After switching off the UV illumination, the particle recovers its rotation speed. Our results provide evidence of uni-and bidirectional motion and speed control in light-responsive polymer particles and offer a new way to devise light-controlled rotary microengines at the micrometer scale.Received: ((will be filled in by the editorial staff))Revised: ((will be filled in by the editorial staff))

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A High‐Lift Micro‐Aerial‐Robot Powered by Low‐Voltage and Long‐Endurance Dielectric Elastomer Actuators (Adv. Mater. 7/2022)

Cited by 18 publications

References 0 publications

Tuning the Ferroelectric Phase Transition of P(VDF-TrFE) through a Simple Approach of Modification by Introducing Double Bonds

Tuning the Ferroelectric Phase Transition of P(VDF-TrFE) through a Simple Approach of Modification by Introducing Double Bonds

An Anisotropic Dielectric Elastomer Actuator with an Oriented Electrospun Nanofiber Composite Film

Uni‐ and Bidirectional Rotation and Speed Control in Chiral Photonic Micromotors Powered by Light

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