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Photothermal Thin Films with Highly Efficient NIR Conversion for Miniaturized Liquid-Crystal Elastomer Actuators.

Wei-Yi Wang1, Bo-You Lin1, Yen-Peng Liao1

  • 1Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.

Polymers
|July 27, 2022
PubMed
Summary

Highly efficient photothermal thin films (PTFs) with liquid metal microdroplets enhance soft actuator performance. These PTFs enable durable, NIR-driven locomotion in miniaturized soft crawlers by reducing thermal response times.

Keywords:
NIR-driven actuatorliquid metalliquid-crystal elastomerphotothermal filmrectilinear locomotionshape-memory polymer

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Soft Robotics
  • Polymer Science

Background:

  • Soft actuators, particularly liquid-crystal elastomers (LCEs), offer unique compliance and actuation capabilities.
  • Efficient photothermal conversion is crucial for remote, non-contact actuation of LCEs using near-infrared (NIR) light.
  • Existing photothermal thin films (PTFs) require optimization for enhanced thermal efficiency and faster response times.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop highly efficient photothermal thin films (PTFs) for actuating polymer-based soft actuators.
  • To investigate the impact of liquid metal (LM) microdroplets on the thermal properties and efficiency of PTFs.
  • To demonstrate the application of these PTFs in miniaturized soft crawlers driven by NIR-responsive LCE actuators.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of PTFs by incorporating EGaIn liquid metal (LM) microdroplets into an acrylic-based black paint matrix.
  • Integration of the developed PTFs with liquid-crystal elastomer (LCE) actuators for NIR-driven photothermal actuation.
  • Characterization of PTF thermal efficiency and LCE actuator response time under NIR illumination.
  • Demonstration of locomotion in miniaturized soft crawlers utilizing the NIR-driven LCE actuators and PTFs.

Main Results:

  • The developed PTFs, comprising acrylic-based black paint and EGaIn LM microdroplets, exhibit excellent NIR absorption and heat conversion.
  • Introduction of LM microdroplets significantly increased the overall thermal efficiency of the PTFs.
  • The thermal time constants of the LCE actuators were reduced by an effective 70% with the incorporation of LM microdroplets.
  • The proposed PTF enabled efficient and durable locomotion of miniaturized soft crawlers under periodic NIR illumination cycles.

Conclusions:

  • The developed photothermal thin films are highly efficient for converting NIR light into heat.
  • The inclusion of liquid metal microdroplets is a key factor in enhancing PTF thermal efficiency and reducing actuator response times.
  • The efficient and durable PTFs are essential for enabling photothermal actuation in soft robotics applications, as demonstrated by the soft crawlers.