4D Printed Liquid Crystal Elastomer Soft Robot and Its Thermal Derived Motion Behavior

doi:10.19894/j.issn.1000-0518.210379

Chinese Journal of Applied Chemistry ›› 2021, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (10): 1389-1396.DOI: 10.19894/j.issn.1000-0518.210379

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4D Printed Liquid Crystal Elastomer Soft Robot and Its Thermal Derived Motion Behavior

Fei ZHAI, Wei FENG()

School of Materials Science and Engineering，Tianjin University，Tianjin 300072，China

Received:2021-07-30 Accepted:2021-08-27 Published:2021-10-01 Online:2021-10-15
Contact: Wei FENG
About author:weifeng@tju.edu.cn
Supported by:
the National Key Research and Development Plan(2016 yfa0202302);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(52130303)

1. .zip(6640KB)

Abstract

Abstract:

Liquid crystal elastomer is a kind of cross-linked polymer network in which anisotropic rigid mesogenic units are connected in the polymer network. Its special structure organically combines the elasticity of rubber with the anisotropy of liquid crystal， resulting in special optical and physical properties. Through the modification of 3D printer based on melting deposition technique the accurate ink direct writing technology of liquid crystal elastomer is realized. In this process， the rigid mesogenic units are directly written into the three-dimensional structure with controllable molecular sequence. The arrangement order of mesogens is set by printing path， and different arrangement order can achieve different stimulus response performance. Based on Michael addition reaction， liquid crystal macromolecular precursor ink was prepared and its rheological properties were adjusted so that it could be extruded with a fine needle with a diameter of 0.25 mm， and the printing samples with regular morphology and highly oriented mesogens were obtained by matching with printing parameters. When heated， the aligned single LCE fiber can achieve more than 40% reversible shrinkage along the printing direction. The structure with controlled geometry and stimulus response can achieve thermal deformation and unlimited thermal motion. In addition to the simple thermal deformation behaviors such as bending， bulge， helix， etc.， the printing parameters can be adjusted to achieve flea like jumping， thermal springing and unlimited thermal rolling. This discovery makes 4D printed liquid crystal elastomer samples no longer limited to a simple driver， but a soft robot with intelligent bionic behavior. Through 4D printing mass production software robot can realize intelligent bionics， transportation， exploring unknown environment and other applications.

Key words: 4D printing, Liquid crystal elastomer, Stimulus response, Actuator, Soft robots

CLC Number:

O632.7

Fei ZHAI, Wei FENG. 4D Printed Liquid Crystal Elastomer Soft Robot and Its Thermal Derived Motion Behavior[J]. Chinese Journal of Applied Chemistry, 2021, 38(10): 1389-1396.

Figures/Tables 5

Fig.1 Schematic diagram of direct ink writing 3D printing system and liquid crystal orientation process

Fig.2 Chemical structure of liquid crystal ink and its preparation process

Fig.3 （A） DSC spectrum of liquid crystal ink；（B） Viscosity of the LC oligomer；（C，D） Polarizing microscope photos of liquid crystal elastomer；（E，F） 2D-Wide angle X-ray scattering pattern and peaks

Fig.4 Thermal deformation behavior of printed samples. （A） Schematic diagram and photos of thermal deformation of single-layer printed samples. （B） Print path and thermal deformation photos of double-layer orthogonal printed samples. （C） Printing path and thermal deformation photos of double-layer concentric printing samples

Fig.5 Thermal motion behavior of printed samples. （A） Printing path and bionic jumping process of double-layer concentric printed samples（width： 1 cm，length： 1.5 cm）. （B） Printing path and hot press bouncing process of three-layer concentric printing samples（width： 1 cm，length： 1.5 cm）. （C） Printing path， thermal deformation and rolling process of double-layer orthogonal 45° printed samples（width： 0.5 cm，length：10 cm）

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4D Printed Liquid Crystal Elastomer Soft Robot and Its Thermal Derived Motion Behavior

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