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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 6, 2025

Microfluidic Fabrication of Polymeric and Biohybrid Fibers with Predesigned Size and Shape
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Continuous spinning aligned liquid crystal elastomer fibers with a 3D printer setup.

Xueyan Lin1, Mohand O Saed1, Eugene M Terentjev1

  • 1Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J. J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0HE, UK. emt1000@cam.ac.uk.

Soft Matter
|May 10, 2021
PubMed
Summary

Researchers developed a scalable 3D printing method for fabricating fibrous liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE) actuators. This new technique produces strong, fast-responding LCE fibers with tunable properties for advanced applications.

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Polymer Chemistry
  • Soft Robotics

Background:

  • Fibrous liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) offer advantages in actuator design, including thinness for rapid responses and enhanced mechanical strength.
  • Previous methods for fabricating LCE fibers, such as electrospinning and microfluidics, have faced challenges in scalability and success rates.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a scalable, robust, and continuous method for producing LCE fibers.
  • To demonstrate the feasibility of using a liquid-ink 3D printer for LCE fiber fabrication.
  • To characterize the properties and potential applications of the fabricated LCE fibers.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a home-made liquid-ink 3D printer to extrude and stretch liquid crystalline oligomers mixed with photo-reactive cross-linkers.
  • Employed UV light during extrusion to fix the aligned molecular network within the fibers.
  • Developed protocols for material synthesis and optimized conditions for stable fiber spinning.

Main Results:

  • Successfully spun microns-thick LCE fibers with two distinct compositions using the 3D printing technique.
  • Demonstrated enhanced mechanical properties in the spun fibers compared to conventional methods.
  • Confirmed the inherent thermal-actuation capabilities of the fabricated LCE fibers.

Conclusions:

  • The proposed 3D printing approach offers a scalable and robust alternative for continuous LCE fiber production.
  • The fabricated LCE fibers exhibit improved mechanical strength and retain thermal-actuation functionality.
  • This technique provides a pathway for fine-tuning fiber properties, enabling diverse applications in fiber-based LCE technologies.