Biomimetic high performance artificial muscle built on sacrificial coordination network and mechanical training process

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 2916
• Main Authors: Tu, Zhikai, Liu, Weifeng, Wang, Jin, Qiu, Xueqing, Huang, Jinhao, Li, Jinxing, Lou, Hongming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 18.05.2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 119/118; 147/135; 639/301/54/989; 639/301/923/1028; Actuation; Actuators; Artificial muscles; Artificial Organs; Automation; Biomass; Biomaterials; Biomedical materials; Biomimetic Materials - chemistry; Biomimetics; Biomimetics - methods; Bonding strength; Chemical engineering; Coordination; Elastomers; Elastomers - chemistry; Engineering research; Exercise; Exercise - physiology; Fabrication; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Lignin; Manufacturing engineering; Mechanical Phenomena; Medical equipment; multidisciplinary; Muscle, Skeletal - physiology; Muscles; Physical exercise; Polyenes - chemistry; Polyolefins; Raw materials; Robotics; Robotics - instrumentation; Robotics - methods; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Skeletal muscle; Smart materials; Smart Materials - chemistry; Stiffening; Strain; Strengthening; Stress concentration; Tensile strength; Training
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23204-x

Artificial muscle materials promise incredible applications in actuators, robotics and medical apparatus, yet the ability to mimic the full characteristics of skeletal muscles into synthetic materials remains a huge challenge. Herein, inspired by the dynamic sacrificial bonds in biomaterials and the self-strengthening of skeletal muscles by physical exercise, high performance artificial muscle material is prepared by rearrangement of sacrificial coordination bonds in the polyolefin elastomer via a repetitive mechanical training process. Biomass lignin is incorporated as a green reinforcer for the construction of interfacial coordination bonds. The prepared artificial muscle material exhibits high actuation strain (>40%), high actuation stress (1.5 MPa) which can lift more than 10,000 times its own weight with 30% strain, characteristics of excellent self-strengthening by mechanical training, strain-adaptive stiffening, and heat/electric programmable actuation performance. In this work, we show a facile strategy for the fabrication of intelligent materials using easily available raw materials. Artificial muscles have a wide range of applications yet truly mimetic designs remain a challenge. Here, the authors use dynamic sacrificial bonds which are rearranged via a mechanical training process to optimise the characteristics of self-strengthening, strain-adaptive stiffening and actuation.