Photothermal modulated dielectric elastomer actuator for resilient soft robots

Matthew Wei Ming Tan, Hyunwoo Bark, Gurunathan Thangavel, Xuefei Gong and Pooi See Lee ()
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Matthew Wei Ming Tan: Nanyang Technological University
Hyunwoo Bark: Nanyang Technological University
Gurunathan Thangavel: Nanyang Technological University
Xuefei Gong: Nanyang Technological University
Pooi See Lee: Nanyang Technological University

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Soft robots need to be resilient to extend their operation under unpredictable environments. While utilizing elastomers that are tough and healable is promising to achieve this, mechanical enhancements often lead to higher stiffness that deteriorates actuation strains. This work introduces liquid metal nanoparticles into carboxyl polyurethane elastomer to sensitize a dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) with responsiveness to electric fields and NIR light. The nanocomposite can be healed under NIR illumination to retain high toughness (55 MJ m−3) and can be recycled at lower temperatures and shorter durations due to nanoparticle-elastomer interactions that minimize energy barriers. During co-stimulation, photothermal effects modulate the elastomer moduli to lower driving electric fields of DEAs. Bilayer configurations display synergistic actuation under co-stimulation to improve energy densities, and enable a DEA crawler to achieve longer strides. This work paves the way for a generation of soft robots that achieves both resilience and high actuation performance.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34301-w

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