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Second-Generation Soft Actuators Driven by NIR Light Based on Croconaine Dye-Doped Vitrimers
Xiang Xu1, Jiannan Cheng1, Haitao Zhao1
1State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Design and Precision Synthesis, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.
Researchers developed near-infrared light-responsive vitrimers for soft actuators. This breakthrough enables selective control of multiple components within soft robots using a single light source, advancing soft robotics.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
- Robotics
Background:
- Photo-responsive soft actuators are crucial for soft robots.
- Achieving selective control of multiple components under uniform light is a significant challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize novel near-infrared light (NIR)-responsive vitrimers.
- To develop a method for fabricating complex soft actuators with tunable NIR responses.
Main Methods:
- Synthesized carboxyl-bearing croconaine dye (CR-800) based NIR-responsive vitrimers (CR-vitrimers) via carboxylate transesterification.
- Prepared NIR-responsive liquid crystalline elastomers (CR-vitrimer-LCEs).
- Fabricated a hand-shaped actuator with varying NIR-response thresholds using the dynamic covalent properties of vitrimers.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated the ability to synthesize NIR-responsive vitrimers and elastomers.
- Successfully fabricated a multi-component hand-shaped actuator.
- Achieved local and sequential control of the actuator under a uniform NIR light field.
Conclusions:
- The developed CR-vitrimers and CR-vitrimer-LCEs offer a promising platform for advanced soft actuators.
- The fabrication method allows for precise control over actuator components, overcoming limitations of uniform light field activation.
- This work paves the way for sophisticated, light-controlled soft robotic systems.
