TY - JOUR
T1 - Reconfigurable Three-Dimensional Mesotructures of Spatially Programmed Liquid Crystal Elastomers and Their Ferromagnetic Composites
AU - Li, Yi
AU - Yu, Huabin
AU - Yu, Kai
AU - Guo, Xiaogang
AU - Wang, Xueju
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH
PY - 2021/6/2
Y1 - 2021/6/2
N2 - Reversible programming of 3D soft mesostructures is desired for many applications including soft robotics and biomedical devices. The large, reversible shape changes of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs), which result from the coupling between the alignment of liquid crystal (LC) molecules and the macroscopic deformation of polymer networks, have attracted much attention for such applications. Here, a facile and versatile strategy is introduced to create reconfigurable, freestanding 3D mesostructures of LCEs and magnetic LCE composites that are inaccessible with existing techniques via spatially programming LC molecules through mechanical buckling. Demonstrations include experimental and theoretical results of more than 20 reconfigurable 3D LCE mesostructures of diverse configurations, from coils and spirals to structures that resemble fences and frameworks, with characteristic feature sizes and thicknesses ranging from micro to macro. The large, reversible shape-switching behaviors of these structures over multiple cycles are also demonstrated. An LCE gripper is shown to grab/release objects of both regular and irregular geometries. Furthermore, a robot of ferromagnetic LCE composites that simultaneously responds to magnetic and thermal stimuli for diverse biomimetic behaviors, especially crawling underneath a narrow crack, illustrates the integration of other functional materials to LCEs for multifunctional systems.
AB - Reversible programming of 3D soft mesostructures is desired for many applications including soft robotics and biomedical devices. The large, reversible shape changes of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs), which result from the coupling between the alignment of liquid crystal (LC) molecules and the macroscopic deformation of polymer networks, have attracted much attention for such applications. Here, a facile and versatile strategy is introduced to create reconfigurable, freestanding 3D mesostructures of LCEs and magnetic LCE composites that are inaccessible with existing techniques via spatially programming LC molecules through mechanical buckling. Demonstrations include experimental and theoretical results of more than 20 reconfigurable 3D LCE mesostructures of diverse configurations, from coils and spirals to structures that resemble fences and frameworks, with characteristic feature sizes and thicknesses ranging from micro to macro. The large, reversible shape-switching behaviors of these structures over multiple cycles are also demonstrated. An LCE gripper is shown to grab/release objects of both regular and irregular geometries. Furthermore, a robot of ferromagnetic LCE composites that simultaneously responds to magnetic and thermal stimuli for diverse biomimetic behaviors, especially crawling underneath a narrow crack, illustrates the integration of other functional materials to LCEs for multifunctional systems.
KW - liquid crystal elastomers
KW - reconfigurable three-dimensional mesostructures
KW - reversible shape morphing
KW - soft robots
KW - spatial programming
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85103418736&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/adfm.202100338
DO - 10.1002/adfm.202100338
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85103418736
SN - 1616-301X
VL - 31
JO - Advanced Functional Materials
JF - Advanced Functional Materials
IS - 23
M1 - 2100338
ER -