Near-infrared photo-responsive Ti3C2Tx MXene/LCN film for soft actuators

Soft actuators have attracted a lot of attention because of their impressive performance and wide range of applications. Liquid crystalline networks (LCNs) are a combination of liquid crystals and polymers, and they are considered to be the most promising materials for creating soft actuators. MXene has a high photothermal conversion efficiency, and it can be a heat-source under near-infrared light. In this paper, we fabricated a MXene/LCN composite film by coating a solution of Ti3C2Tx MXene onto an LCN film with orientation direction and then followed by drying. We observed different types of deformations when we cut the composite film in different directions. We also measured the influence of the near-infrared light intensity on the bending angle, response time, and recovery time of the composite films with different deformations. Finally, we used this composite film to fabricate various biomimetic devices such as biomimetic flowers, artificial irises, mechanical fixtures, and crawling robots. These results demonstrate the great potential of this composite film in soft actuator applications.

软体驱动器（soft actuators）凭借其卓越的性能与广阔的应用前景，受到了广泛关注。液晶网络（liquid crystalline networks, LCNs）是液晶与高分子的结合体，被认为是制备软体驱动器最具潜力的材料之一。MXene具有极高的光热转换效率，可作为近红外光辐照下的热源介质。本研究通过将Ti3C2Tx型MXene溶液涂覆于具有取向方向的LCN薄膜表面，随后经干燥处理，制备得到MXene/LCN复合薄膜。我们发现，沿不同方向裁切该复合薄膜时，其会呈现出不同类型的形变行为。此外，我们还定量测试了近红外光强度对不同形变模式下复合薄膜的弯曲角度、响应时间与恢复时间的调控作用。最后，我们利用该复合薄膜制备了多款仿生装置，涵盖仿生花朵、人工虹膜、机械夹具与爬行机器人等。上述实验结果充分证明了该复合薄膜在软体驱动器应用领域的巨大应用潜力。