Welding complex-shaped actuators from dynamic liquid crystal elastomers.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Science
• Robotics

Background:

• Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are advanced materials with unique stimuli-responsive properties, making them ideal for soft actuators and soft robotic systems.
• Current fabrication methods for complex-shaped LCE actuators with precise shape-morphing capabilities are limited.
• Achieving controlled shape transformations in multicomponent LCEs while maintaining individual component functions is a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel welding-based strategy for fabricating light-responsive, multicomponent LCE actuators.
• To enable complex shape morphing in LCE actuators by integrating differently oriented LCE segments.
• To establish a versatile platform for creating weldable, arbitrarily aligned, and complex-shaped LCE actuators.

Main Methods:

• A welding strategy utilizing dynamic disulfide bonds was employed for fabricating LCE actuators.
• The dynamic disulfide bonds were incorporated into surface-aligned, chain-extended LCEs.
• This method ensures robust adhesion between LCE segments without disrupting molecular orientation during the welding process.

Main Results:

• The developed welding technique successfully produced light-responsive, multicomponent LCEs with complex shape morphing capabilities.
• The distinct functional responses of individual LCE components were preserved after welding.
• The resulting LCE actuators seamlessly integrated differently oriented LCE segments, demonstrating diverse shape-morphing abilities.

Conclusions:

• The welding-based strategy offers a robust method for fabricating complex-shaped LCE actuators.
• This approach enables precise control over shape transformations in multicomponent LCE systems.
• The developed platform facilitates the creation of versatile, weldable LCE actuators for advanced soft robotics applications.