Large amplitude light-induced motion in high elastic modulus polymer actuators
2005; Royal Society of Chemistry; Volume: 15; Issue: 47 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1039/b512655j
ISSN1364-5501
AutoresKenneth D. Harris, Ruud Cuypers, Patrick Scheibe, Casper L. van Oosten, Cees W. M. Bastiaansen, Johan Lub, Dirk J. Broer,
Tópico(s)Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
ResumoWell-defined gradients in molecular alignment have been used as tools to generate large amplitude, light-induced deformations in stiff polymer networks. These systems are reversible, monolithic and based on a simple one-step self-assembly process. To fabricate the actuators, diacrylate dopants containing azobenzene moieties were blended with liquid crystalline diacrylate hosts and photopolymerized in a twisted configuration. The resulting twisted networks were heavily crosslinked with room temperature elastic moduli on the order of 1 GPa. Regardless of the temperature with respect to the glass transitions, subsequent exposure to UV radiation induced anisotropic expansion/contraction, and simple variations in geometry were used to generate uniaxial bending or helical coiling deformation modes. Because mechanical energy is directly related to elastic modulus, these systems are expected to provide significantly greater work output than contemporary polymer actuator materials.
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