3D Printing of Liquid Crystal Elastomeric Actuators with Spatially Programed Nematic Order

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Soft Robotics
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are advanced soft materials known for their capacity for large, reversible shape deformations.
• Potential applications include artificial muscles, soft robots, and adaptive functional structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and additively manufacture LCE actuators (LCEAs) with precisely controlled nematic order.
• To achieve large, reversible, and repeatable contractions with high specific work capacity in LCEAs.

Main Methods:

• Development of a photopolymerizable, solvent-free main-chain LCE ink with suitable viscoelastic properties for 3D printing.
• Utilizing high-temperature direct ink writing to align mesogen domains along the print path, programming nematic order.
• Fabrication of shape-morphing LCEA architectures with reversible planar-to-3D and 3D-to-3D' transformations.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated successful 3D printing of LCE inks with controlled nematic ordering.
• Achieved significant, repeatable contractions and high specific work capacity in the fabricated LCEAs.
• Showcased reversible shape transformations in complex LCEA architectures capable of lifting substantial weight.

Conclusions:

• Additive manufacturing of LCEAs with spatially programmed nematic order enables high-performance soft actuators.
• This approach facilitates the creation of dynamic, shape-morphing architectures for advanced applications in soft robotics and beyond.
• The developed LCEAs exhibit superior performance in terms of work capacity compared to previously reported materials.