Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Polymeric Coatings for Colorful Artificial Muscles and Motile Humidity Sensor Skin Integrated with Magnetic Composites

• Published in: Advanced functional materials Vol. 33; no. 23
• Main Authors: Feng, Wei, Pal, Aniket, Wang, Tianlu, Ren, Ziyu, Yan, Yingbo, Lu, Yanqing, Yang, Huai, Sitti, Metin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.06.2023
• Subjects: Actuation; Actuators; Artificial muscles; Cholesteric liquid crystals; cholesterics; Composite materials; Confined spaces; humidity‐responsiveness; liquid crystal networks; magnetic actuations; Magnetic control; Materials science; Morphing; Polymer coatings; Relative humidity; Sensors; Stimulation; structural colors; magnetic actuations; structural colors; cholesterics; liquid crystal networks; humidity-responsiveness
• ISSN: 1616-301X; 1616-3028
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202300731

Structural colorful cholesterics show impressive susceptibility to external stimulation, leading to applications in electro/mechano‐chromic devices. However, out‐of‐plane actuation of structural colorful actuators based on cholesterics and the integration with other stimulation remains underdeveloped. Herein, colorful actuators and motile humidity sensors are developed using humidity‐responsive cholesteric liquid crystal networks (CLCNs) and magnetic composites. The developed colorful actuator can exhibit synergistic out‐of‐plane shape morphing and color change in response to humidity, with CLCNs as colorful artificial muscles. Through the integration with magnetic control, the motile sensor can be navigated to open and confined spaces with the aid of friction to detect local relative humidity. The integration of multi‐stimulation actuation of cholesteric magnetic actuators will expand the research frontier of structural colorful actuators and motile sensors for confined spaces. Humidity‐sensitive cholesteric liquid crystal network polymers combined with magnetic composite are developed into colorful actuators and motile sensors, which can be controlled and actuated using humidity and magnetic field. The actuators show synergistic color change and shape morphing while the motile sensors can locomote in open and confined spaces under magnetic actuation.