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Nanofibrous Actuator with an Alignment Gradient for Millisecond-Responsive, Multidirectional, Multimodal, and

Juanrong Qin1, Pingping Feng1, Yaru Wang1

  • 1Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069 Shaanxi, People's Republic of China.

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Summary

This study introduces a novel nanofibrous actuator that responds rapidly to moisture, offering controllable multi-dimensional shape changes. This breakthrough advances smart materials for soft robotics and intelligent devices.

Keywords:
actuatoralignment gradientbiomimeticelectrospinningnanofibershape deformation

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Nanotechnology
  • Robotics

Background:

  • Stimulus-responsive actuators often suffer from slow response times, limited deformation, and unidirectional transformations.
  • Existing smart materials struggle to meet the demands for advanced applications requiring complex shape-changing capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To design and fabricate a novel water/moisture responsive nanofibrous actuator with an alignment degree gradient.
  • To overcome the limitations of current actuators by achieving superfast response, controllable deformation, and multi-dimensional shape changes.

Main Methods:

  • A structural bionic strategy was employed to create a nanofibrous actuator with a gradient alignment degree.
  • The actuator was fabricated using layer-by-layer and side-by-side integration of nanofibers.
  • Performance was evaluated based on response time, deformation amplitude, direction control, and repeatability.

Main Results:

  • The nanofibrous actuator demonstrated a superfast response time (<150 ms) and a large bending curvature (25.3 cm⁻¹).
  • It exhibited controllable deformation directions, multiple actuation models, and multi-dimensional shape transformations (0D-3D, 1D-3D, 2D-3D, 3D-3D).
  • The actuator achieved a high repeatability rate (>1000 cycles) and superior performance compared to existing actuators.

Conclusions:

  • The developed nanofibrous actuator significantly outperforms current smart materials in terms of response speed, deformation control, and dimensional transformation.
  • Its unique properties enable practical applications in amphibious movement, intelligent protection, and cargo transportation.
  • This actuator holds substantial potential for advancements in soft robotics, sensors, and biomedicine.