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 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.

高度可变形且具有光响应的智能驱动器正受到越来越多的关注。在此，通过结合多种分散方法的优势，将高浓度的石墨烯分散在聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）中。利用复合材料层和纯PDMS层来制造具有快速变形高能力的双层驱动器。所制造的双层驱动器展现出新颖且有趣的特性。含有30 wt%石墨烯复合材料的双层驱动器在红外激光照射下可在水平方向偏转7.9毫米。复合材料中的石墨烯浓度影响驱动器对变形的调节及其响应速度，并且该复合材料还表现出超疏水性。基于其超疏水性和大变形能力，由30 wt%石墨烯复合材料制成的驱动器被用于构建一只白鲸软机器人。该机器人能在水中以平均6毫米/秒的速度快速游动，并且在仅被红外激光照射一次时，它能在5秒内行进30毫米的距离。用这种方法制造的驱动器可用于人造肌肉、仿生夹具以及各种需要具有大变形能力驱动器的软机器人中。