Rewritable Electrically Controllable Liquid Crystal Actuators

Liu, Yawen; Wu, Yahe; Liang, Huan; Xu, Hongtu; Wei, Yen; Ji, Yan

doi:10.1002/adfm.202302110

Cited by 8 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 61 publications

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“…Numerous prior examinations have explored electrothermal approaches, in which the applied electrical current is converted into heat, affecting the order of the LCE. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] In certain implementations, such as robotics, electrically-directed but isothermal responses are desired. Pure electromechanical responses have been examined in gels capable of Fredericks transitions, i.e., rotating mesogenic units in the LCE to align with the electric field.…”

Section: Doi: 101002/admt202301970mentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced Electromechanical Output in Liquid Crystal Elastomers Prepared by Thiol‐ene Photopolymerization

Fowler,

Pearl,

White

2024

Adv Materials Technologies

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The electrically‐directed, isothermal response of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) to an applied electric field is a compelling approach to realize spatially tailorable, sequence‐controllable, and high‐frequency deformation. The electromechanical response is facilitated by coating aligned LCEs with compliant electrodes. Upon application of an electric field, the electrodes attract and generate Maxwell stress. The directional difference in moduli for aligned LCEs produces directional deformation of the material and does not require mechanical bias or framing. Here, LCEs prepared from a newly reported thiol‐ene reaction are explored as DEAs with improved mechanical and dielectric properties. This report details that incorporating a difunctional liquid crystalline monomer composed of allyl ether functional groups reduces Young's modulus, increases the dielectric constant, and improves cyclic recovery compared to an analogous LCE prepared by thiol‐ene polymerization. Electrically‐induced, isothermal deformation of as much as 30% strain is reported. The facile chemistry and enhanced electromechanical response reported here may enable the functional integration of LCEs in applications such as robotics.

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Section: Doi: 101002/admt202301970mentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced Electromechanical Output in Liquid Crystal Elastomers Prepared by Thiol‐ene Photopolymerization

Fowler,

Pearl,

White

2024

Adv Materials Technologies

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Liquid Metal Powders Wrapped with Robust Shell by Bimetallic Ions Chelation Strategy for Energy Harvesting and Flexible Electronics

Qi,

Yu,

Liu

et al. 2023

Adv Funct Materials

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Excellent electrical and fluidic properties render liquid metal (LM) a promising material for flexible electronics, soft robotics, and stretchable circuits. Although producing LM micro/nano droplets by nanometerization addresses the tricky issue of the processing result from high surface tension, it still remains challenging to obtain stable LM droplets because of their dynamic surfaces. In this study, LM powders wrapped with robust shells are fabricated by bimetallic ions chelation strategy. During sonicating LM (e.g., EGaIn) in an alginate solution, a microgel shell is first formed by the coordination of Ga3+ and carboxyl groups. Subsequently, LM powders are achieved by introducing Ca2+ as secondary metal ions to chelate with redundant carboxyl groups. Besides high chemical stability in water and air, these nonstick LM powders also exhibit superior photothermal effects for energy harvesting, being capable of recovering electrical conductivity by mechanical sintering for flexible electronics. These conductive circuits based on LM powders not only work as electro‐thermal heaters, and electromagnetic interference shielding material but also can be designed as smart actuators. Thus, this bimetallic ions chelation strategy may start a pathway to produce stable, transportable LM powders with multifunctional properties, applicable in stretchable electronics, smart actuators, and electric skins.

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Climbing Plant‐Inspired Multi‐Responsive Biomimetic Actuator with Transitioning Complex Surfaces

Li,

Lou,

Liu

et al. 2024

Adv Funct Materials

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Bionic robots have great potential in healthcare, rescue, and surveillance. However, most soft actuators can only realize one or two deformation modes, which largely limit the application in complex environments. This study develops electric/Infrared (IR) light/magnetic multi‐field coupling soft actuators by combining liquid crystal elastomers (LCE), liquid metal (LM) and magnetic Ecoflex (Mecoflex). Originated from the synergistic effect of the differed thermal expansion and the liquid crystal phase transition, the actuator can realize outstanding large deformations (bending angle > 300°) at ultra‐low voltages (1.0 V). In addition, by designing the molecular orientation in the LCE layer and programming the magnetization in the Mecoflex layer, the bending or helical bending deformations can be controlled under electric/magnetic and IR light/magnetic coupling actuation. Based on the complex deformation capability, bionic climbing plants and two kinds of quadrupedal robots are developed. With the structural design of the quadrupedal robots, they can flexibly switch deformations to pass through complex environments by controlling the externally applied coupling fields, which demonstrates their broad potential in practical applications.

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Rewritable Electrically Controllable Liquid Crystal Actuators

Cited by 8 publications

References 61 publications

Enhanced Electromechanical Output in Liquid Crystal Elastomers Prepared by Thiol‐ene Photopolymerization

Enhanced Electromechanical Output in Liquid Crystal Elastomers Prepared by Thiol‐ene Photopolymerization

Liquid Metal Powders Wrapped with Robust Shell by Bimetallic Ions Chelation Strategy for Energy Harvesting and Flexible Electronics

Climbing Plant‐Inspired Multi‐Responsive Biomimetic Actuator with Transitioning Complex Surfaces

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