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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 19, 2025

Microfluidic Preparation of Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Actuators
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3D printing programmable liquid crystal elastomer soft pneumatic actuators.

Wei Liao1, Zhongqiang Yang1,2

  • 1Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. zyang@tsinghua.edu.cn.

Materials Horizons
|December 5, 2022
PubMed
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Researchers developed novel soft pneumatic actuators (SPAs) using aligned liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) fabricated with 3D printing. This intrinsic anisotropy enables precise control over actuator motion for various applications.

Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Robotics
  • Polymer Chemistry

Background:

  • Soft pneumatic actuators (SPAs) require anisotropic mechanical properties for controlled motion.
  • Current methods for achieving anisotropy often involve integrating stiff materials or complex structures, leading to limitations.
  • These limitations include potential interfacial issues and inefficient material utilization in traditional SPA fabrication.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a new strategy for fabricating SPAs with intrinsic mechanical anisotropy.
  • To utilize aligned liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) and a modified 3D printing technology for SPA fabrication.
  • To demonstrate the capability of LCE-SPAs to perform diverse motions and tasks.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of SPAs using aligned liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs).

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  • Application of a modified 3D printing technology with a rotating substrate for one-step fabrication.
  • Programming of LCE alignment in three dimensions to achieve intrinsic mechanical anisotropy.

    • Main Results:

    • Successfully fabricated tubular LCE-SPAs with precisely controlled, programmed alignments.
    • Demonstrated intrinsic mechanical anisotropy in the LCE material leading to controlled actuator behavior.
    • Achieved basic motions including contraction, elongation, bending, and twisting, performing tasks like object grasping and water mixing.

    Conclusions:

    • The proposed method offers a novel approach for designing and fabricating SPAs.
    • Aligned LCEs fabricated via 3D printing provide a pathway to intrinsic mechanical anisotropy.
    • This technique enables versatile SPA performance and opens new perspectives for actuator development.