Due to the great potential in many applications, multi-responsive soft actuators as a kind of smart materials have attracted great interest from the scientific community. Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are gradually becoming their preferred candidate matrix because of their unique mesogenic anisotropy and polymer elasticity. Here, we designed and synthesized a new disulfide-bonded aromatic molecule (named DSAC), which was used to endow the LCE matrix with a self-healing effect to extend the service life. The large conjugate structure greatly reduces the bond energy of the disulfide bond, thus allowing self-healing to occur at a lower temperature. Furthermore, the LCE matrix was coated with a novel type of functional layer with photothermal and conductive properties to make it be driven by multi-modes. Based on the above, we have prepared a healable and dual-driving mode soft actuator enabled by disulfide-bonded liquid crystal elastomers with multiple stimulus–response properties, which shows great potential in flexible electronics, artificial muscles and soft robots.

中文翻译：

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由二硫键液晶弹性体实现的可修复和多驱动模式软执行器


由于在许多应用中的巨大潜力，多响应软执行器作为一种智能材料引起了科学界的极大兴趣。液晶弹性体（LCE）因其独特的介晶各向异性和聚合物弹性而逐渐成为他们的首选候选基质。在这里，我们设计并合成了一种新的二硫键芳香族分子（DSAC），用于赋予LCE基质自修复作用，以延长使用寿命。大的共轭结构大大降低了二硫键的键能，从而允许在较低的温度下发生自修复。此外，LCE矩阵上涂有一种具有光热和导电特性的新型功能层，使其可以通过多模式驱动。基于此，我们制备了一种由具有多重刺激响应特性的二硫键液晶弹性体实现的可修复双驱动模式软执行器，在柔性电子、人造肌肉和软机器人方面显示出巨大的潜力。