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Fabrication Process of Silicone-based Dielectric Elastomer Actuators
Published on: February 1, 2016
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Photothermal modulated dielectric elastomer actuator for resilient soft robots
Matthew Wei Ming Tan1, Hyunwoo Bark1, Gurunathan Thangavel1
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore.
Nature Communications
|November 9, 2022
Summary
This study introduces a novel nanocomposite for soft robots, enhancing resilience and actuation performance. The material self-heals under NIR light and shows improved energy density for better robot mobility.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Robotics
- Polymer Chemistry
Background:
- Soft robots require resilience for unpredictable environments.
- Tough and healable elastomers improve durability but can increase stiffness, reducing actuation.
- Existing materials face trade-offs between mechanical enhancement and performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a carboxyl polyurethane elastomer sensitized with liquid metal nanoparticles.
- To enhance dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) with responsiveness to electric fields and NIR light.
- To achieve both resilience and high actuation performance in soft robots.
Main Methods:
- Incorporation of liquid metal nanoparticles into a carboxyl polyurethane elastomer.
- Fabrication of a nanocomposite for dielectric elastomer actuators.
- Utilizing NIR illumination for self-healing and photothermal modulation.
- Investigating bilayer configurations for synergistic actuation.
Main Results:
- The nanocomposite exhibits self-healing under NIR light, retaining high toughness (55 MJ m-3).
- Nanoparticle-elastomer interactions facilitate recycling at lower temperatures and shorter durations.
- Photothermal effects from co-stimulation reduce driving electric fields for DEAs.
- Bilayer configurations show synergistic actuation, improving energy densities and enabling longer strides in a DEA crawler.
Conclusions:
- This work presents a novel nanocomposite for advanced soft robots.
- The material offers a unique combination of resilience, self-healing, and high actuation performance.
- The findings pave the way for a new generation of soft robots with enhanced capabilities.
