Liquid crystal elastomer film actuators with anti-strain robustness

Abstract

Thermotropic monodomain liquid crystal elastomers (mLCEs) exhibit reversible contractile actuation properties along the collimated direction of mesogens when stimulated by external temperature, similar to those of biological skeletal muscle, and have great potential applications in flexible actuators and artificial muscles. However, the existence of flexible chain segments causes mLCEs to elongate under a small load, making calibration under different loads necessary when they are used as an actuator. In this study, a physical crosslinking point between flexible segments is provided through the introduction of designed long-chain molecules (LHS) containing amide bonds on the main chain of LCEs. The 5% LHS-mLCEs with enhanced anti-strain robustness achieved essentially constant original length over a range of loads (0–0.25 MPa) and maintained a reversible contraction ratio of 39.4%, comparable to biological skeletal muscle. Furthermore, a nonreconfigurable topological structure of a metal electrothermal layer with lossless compression properties was designed and prepared on the surface of mLCEs. The film actuators exhibit higher frequency oscillatory actuation (0.1 Hz 9.2%; 0.2 Hz 6.3%; 0.5 Hz 2%) relative to previously reported actuators, benefitting from the optimized heat dissipation structure of LCEs/Ag/air. This study provides valuable references and ideas for applying thermotropic mLCEs in practice.