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Multiresponsive Bidirectional Bending Actuators Fabricated by a Pencil‐on‐Paper Method
Author(s) -
Weng Mingcen,
Zhou Peidi,
Chen Luzhuo,
Zhang Lingling,
Zhang Wei,
Huang Zhigao,
Liu Changhong,
Fan Shoushan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201602772
Subject(s) - materials science , actuator , artificial muscle , pencil (optics) , bending , smart material , fabrication , nanotechnology , mechanical engineering , composite material , computer science , artificial intelligence , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , engineering
Recently, actuating materials based on carbon nanotubes or graphene have been widely studied. However, present carbon‐based actuating materials are mostly driven by a single stimulus (humidity, light, electricity, etc.), respectively, which means that the application conditions are limited. Here, a new kind of multiresponsive actuating material which can be driven by humidity, light, and electricity is proposed, so it can be used in various conditions. The fabrication is based on the simplest pencil‐on‐paper method, in which the pencil and paper are both low‐cost and easily obtained daily materials. The actuation effect is more remarkable due to a dual‐mode actuation mechanism, which leads to an ultralarge actuation (bending curvature up to 2.6 cm −1 ). Elaborately designed, the actuator can further exhibit a bidirectional bending actuation, which is a significant improvement compared with previous reported thermal actuators. What is more, a colorful biomimetic flower and a smart curtain are also fabricated, fully utilizing the printable characteristic of the paper and multiresponsive characteristic of the actuator. It is assumed that the newly designed actuating material has great potential in the fields of lab‐on‐paper devices, artificial muscles, robotics, biomimics, and smart household materials.