Photoresponsive Graphene Composite Bilayer Actuator for Soft Robots

Highly deformable and photoresponsive smart actuators are attracting increasing attention. Here, a high concentration of graphene is dispersed in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) by combining the advantages of various dispersion methods. The composite and pure PDMS layers are used to fabricate bilayer ac...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Main Authors: Wang, Xiaodong, Jiao, Niandong, Tung, Steve, Liu, Lianqing
Format: Report
Language:English
Published: AMER CHEMICAL SOC 2019
Subjects:
soft actuator
photoresponse
biomimetic
superhydrophobic
composite materials
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Materials Science
Multidisciplinary
THERMAL-CONDUCTIVITY
LIGHT
DISPERSION
THICKNESS
FLAKES
Science & Technology - Other Topics
Beluga
Beluga whale
Beluga*
Online Access:http://ir.sia.cn/handle/173321/25746
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.9b09491
Description
Summary:Highly deformable and photoresponsive smart actuators are attracting increasing attention. Here, a high concentration of graphene is dispersed in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) by combining the advantages of various dispersion methods. The composite and pure PDMS layers are used to fabricate bilayer actuators with a high capacity for rapid deformation. The fabricated bilayer actuators exhibit novel and interesting properties. A bilayer actuator containing a 30 wt % graphene composite can be deflected by 7.9 mm in the horizontal direction under infrared laser irradiation. The graphene concentration in the composite influences actuator adjustment to deformation and its response speed, and the composite also exhibits superhydrophobicity. On the basis of its superhydrophobicity and large deformation capacity, the actuator made with 30 wt % graphene composite is used to construct a beluga whale soft robot. The robot can swim quickly in water at an average speed of 6 mm/s, and it can cover a distance of 30 mm in 5 s when irradiated just once with an infrared laser. Actuators fabricated with this method can be used in artificial muscle, bionic grippers, and various soft robots that require actuators with large deformation capacities.

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