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This work reports an innovative humidity driven actuation concept based onBangham effect using simple nanoporous sol-gel silica thin films as humidityresponsive materials. Bilayer shaped actuators, consisting on ahumidity-sensitive active nanostructured silica film deposited on a polymericsubstrate (Kapton) were demonstrated as an original mean to convert watermolecule adsorption and capillary condensation in useable mechanical work.Reversible silica surface energy modifications by water adsorption and theenergy produced by the rigid silica film contraction, induced by watercapillary condensation in mesopores, were finely controlled and used as theenergy sources. The influence of the film nanostructure (microporosity,mesoporosity) and thickness, and of the polymeric support thickness, on theactuation force, on the movement speed, and on the amplitude of displacementare clearly evidenced and discussed. We show that the global mechanicalresponse of such silica-based actuators can be easily adjusted to fabricate ahumidity variation triggered tailor-made actuation systems. This first insightin hard ceramic stimulus responsive materials may open the door toward newgeneration of surface chemistry driven actuation systems.

Converting water adsorption and capillary condensation in useable forces with simple porous inorganic thin films