3D-Printed Photoresponsive Liquid Crystal Elastomer Composites for Free-Form Actuation

Direct ink writing of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) offers a new opportunity to program geometries for a wide variety of shape transformation modes toward applications such as soft robotics. So far, most 3D-printed LCEs are thermally actuated. Herein, a 3D-printable photoresponsive gold nanorod (AuNR)/LCE composite ink is developed, allowing for photothermal actuation of the 3D-printed structures with AuNR as low as 0.1 wt.%. It is shown that the printed filament has a superior photothermal response with 27% actuation strain upon irradiation to near-infrared (NIR) light (808 nm) at 1.4 W cm(-2) (corresponding to 160 degrees C) under optimal printing conditions. The 3D-printed composite structures can be globally or locally actuated into different shapes by controlling the area exposed to the NIR laser. Taking advantage of the customized structures enabled by 3D printing and the ability to control locally exposed light, a light-responsive soft robot is demonstrated that can climb on a ratchet surface with a maximum speed of 0.284 mm s(-1) (on a flat surface) and 0.216 mm s(-1) (on a 30 degrees titled surface), respectively, corresponding to 0.428 and 0.324 body length per min, respectively, with a large body mass (0.23 g) and thickness (1 mm).

Automated summary

In this study, a 3D printable photoresponsive gold nanorod/LCE composite ink was developed for photothermal actuation. The printed filament showed a superior photothermal response and could be actuated into different shapes by controlling the area exposed to NIR light. A light-responsive soft robot was demonstrated using this customized composite structure and the ability to control locally exposed light.