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Nanostructures: Graphene‐Enabled Superior and Tunable Photomechanical Actuation in Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Nanocomposites (Adv. Mater. 41/2015)
Author(s) -
Yang Yingkui,
Zhan Wenjie,
Peng Rengui,
He Chengen,
Pang Xinchang,
Shi Dean,
Jiang Tao,
Lin Zhiqun
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201570280
Subject(s) - materials science , graphene , elastomer , nanocomposite , composite material , nanotechnology , nanostructure
Actuated materials undergo shape and dimension changes in response to external stimuli and thus convert various forms of input energies into mechanical work. On page 6376, Y. Yang, Z. Lin, and co‐workers report novel near‐infrared responsive composites consisting of uniformly aligned graphene in a liquid‐crystalline elastomer matrix. Large deformation amplitude, high driving force, fast reversible response, and long cyclability can be achieved by tuning the characteristics of graphene in these nanocomposites. Such materials have potential applications in robotics, artificial muscles, switches, motors, sensors, and micromechanical systems.