Three-dimensional thermochromic liquid crystal elastomer structures with reversible shape-morphing and color-changing capabilities for soft robotics

Li, Yang; Teixeira, Yasmin; Parlato, Gina; Grace, Jaclyn; Wang, Fei; Huey, Bryan D.; Wang, Xueju

doi:10.1039/d2sm00876a

Cited by 17 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Heat [ 33,[165][166][167][168][169][170][171][172][173] Humidity [ 174,175] Light [ 176,177] Bilayer hinges [ 33,177] Fiber actuation at hinges [ 33,[178][179][180] Twisted nematic or splayed hinges [ 171,173] Fast actuation (ms-s) Moderate stiffness and actuation stress (kPa-MPa)…”

Section: Reversible Deformationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Efforts have also been taken to realize color change during the actuation of LCE origami. [165,168] Huang et al [168] recently presented luminescent LCE origami by incorporating fluorescent and color-changing agents into the LCE matrix, including a blue-green fluorescent moiety tetraphenylethene, a photochromic moiety spiropyran, and an NIR photothermal dye YHD796. NIR light was used as a heat source to facilitate the deformation of the LCE, while UV and visible light were used for reversible color change between green-blue and red at folded states and dull red at deployed states (Figure 5g).…”

Section: Lce Origamimentioning

confidence: 99%

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Active Materials for Functional Origami

Leanza

Sun

et al. 2023

Advanced Materials

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In recent decades, origami has been explored to aid in the design of engineering structures. These structures span multiple scales and have been demonstrated to be used towards various areas such as aerospace, metamaterial, biomedical, robotics, and architectural applications. Conventionally, origami or deployable structures have been actuated by hands, motors, or pneumatic actuators, which can result in heavy or bulky structures. On the other hand, active materials, which reconfigure in response to external stimulus, eliminate the need for external mechanical loads and bulky actuation systems. Thus, in recent years, active materials incorporated with deployable structures have shown promise for remote actuation of light weight, programmable origami. In this review, active materials such as shape memory polymers and alloys, hydrogels, liquid crystal elastomers, magnetic soft materials, and covalent adaptable network polymers, their actuation mechanisms, as well as how they have been utilized for active origami and where these structures are applicable is discussed. Additionally, the state‐of‐the‐art fabrication methods to construct active origami are highlighted. The existing structural modeling strategies for origami, the constitutive models used to describe active materials, and the largest challenges and future directions for active origami research are summarized.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

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Section: Reversible Deformationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Lce Origamimentioning

confidence: 99%

Active Materials for Functional Origami

Leanza

Sun

et al. 2023

Advanced Materials

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“…These advancements hold significant promise for applications in biomimetic actuators, information encryption, and anti-counterfeiting measures. [15][16][17][18][19] While synergistic control over color and shape in LCEs has been achieved through the introduction of thermochromic or photochromic chemical dyes or pigments, these strategies still exhibit some nonnegligible limitations: 1) the shape deformation and colorswitching are still independent behaviors; 2) In certain cases, multiple stimuli are required to initiate synchronous shape-color changes; 3) achieving in situ manipulation of color switching with high spatial resolution proves to be challenging. Thus, the harmonious integration of both functions into a single material to achieve a synergistic response presents a formidable challenge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synchronously Thermochromic and Shape‐Shifting Liquid Crystal Elastomers Enabled by Hierarchical Structure Control for Multidimensional Encryption

Xu,

Li,

Yin

et al. 2024

Adv Materials Technologies

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To date, a diverse array of smart materials, drawing inspiration from nature, is developed, exhibiting remarkable shape or color‐changing capabilities, which hold great promise in applications such as bionic soft robots and information encryption platforms. Achieving reversible shape‐shifting and color variation harmoniously within a single material is a particularly appealing prospect. Herein, a facile approach to creating such materials is presented, capable of undergoing reversible shape and color‐change synchronously. This is achieved by harnessing the stress‐free two‐way shape‐memory effect (2W‐SME) of a liquid crystal elastomer (LCE), meticulously programmed at both macro and micro scales. Specifically, the LCE with stress‐free 2W‐SME is fabricated, and permanent grating nanostructures are meticulously constructed through UV‐assisted nanoimprinting. By enabling reversible shape alterations at multiple dimensions, encompassing both macro and micro scales, the LCE material concurrently exhibits reversible changes in shape and color, triggered by heat. As a result, intelligent information encryption and decryption platforms that leverage the unique capabilities of LCE are demonstrated. The outcomes of this research endeavor are poised to pave the way for the advancement of smart materials in the realms of data storage and encryption.

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“…Researchers have also been exploring different actuation methods for soft robots using a variety of stimuli, including pressure (2,11,12), heat (13)(14)(15)(16)(17), electrical field (3,18,19), magnetic field (20)(21)(22), and chemical potential (23,24). Among the various types of stimuli, electric stimulus is one of the simplest and most convenient, where electroactive polymers, either ionic or field activated, are widely used.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caterpillar-inspired soft crawling robot with distributed programmable thermal actuation

Hong

Zhao

et al. 2023

Sci. Adv.

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Many inspirations for soft robotics are from the natural world, such as octopuses, snakes, and caterpillars. Here, we report a caterpillar-inspired, energy-efficient crawling robot with multiple crawling modes, enabled by joule heating of a patterned soft heater consisting of silver nanowire networks in a liquid crystal elastomer (LCE)–based thermal bimorph actuator. With patterned and distributed heaters and programmable heating, different temperature and hence curvature distribution along the body of the robot are achieved, enabling bidirectional locomotion as a result of the friction competition between the front and rear end with the ground. The thermal bimorph behavior is studied to predict and optimize the local curvature of the robot under thermal stimuli. The bidirectional actuation modes with the crawling speeds are investigated. The capability of passing through obstacles with limited spacing are demonstrated. The strategy of distributed and programmable heating and actuation with thermal responsive materials offers unprecedented capabilities for smart and multifunctional soft robots.

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Three-dimensional thermochromic liquid crystal elastomer structures with reversible shape-morphing and color-changing capabilities for soft robotics

Abstract: Functional structures with reversible shape-morphing and color-changing capabilities are promising for many applications, including soft robotics, biomimetic camouflage devices, and many others. Despite extensive studies, there are few reports on...

Cited by 17 publications

References 64 publications

Active Materials for Functional Origami

Active Materials for Functional Origami

Synchronously Thermochromic and Shape‐Shifting Liquid Crystal Elastomers Enabled by Hierarchical Structure Control for Multidimensional Encryption

Caterpillar-inspired soft crawling robot with distributed programmable thermal actuation

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