A liquid crystal elastomer-based generator using light-powered self-oscillations

Dali Ge, Wu Bao, Haiming Chen and Kai Li

Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, 2025, vol. 199, issue P1

Abstract: Self-oscillation can overcome many limitations of traditional energy harvesting systems, providing stable voltage output without the need for additional controllers or contact with external vibrators. Leveraging light-driven self-oscillation, this paper presents a liquid crystal elastomer (LCE)-based generator, consisting of a LCE film, a sandwich beam made of two piezoelectric layers and a substrate layer, along with a resistor. Based on the evolution of photothermal temperature, the control equation for the light-driven self-oscillation of generator was derived. Through numerical calculations, two patterns are identified, namely, the static pattern and the self-oscillation pattern, and the mechanism of generation is revealed. In each self-oscillating cycle, the photothermal-induced contraction and recovery of the liquid crystal elastomer film cause the cantilever to bend, generating compressive stress in the piezoelectric layers and resulting in voltage output. In addition, a numerical evaluation was conducted on the effects of various system parameters on the vibration amplitude and frequency of self-oscillation, and the amplitude voltage and power of the generation. Compared to traditional vibration energy harvesters, this LCE-based generator features a simple structure and autonomous control, operating without an external controller, making it highly applicable in energy harvesting, adaptive robotics, self-powered systems, and artificial intelligence.

Keywords: Generator; Self-oscillation; Light; Liquid crystal elastomer; Piezoelectric layer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:chsofr:v:199:y:2025:i:p1:s0960077925007039

DOI: 10.1016/j.chaos.2025.116690

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