Light-Responsive Soft Robots: Structure-Property Relations by Control Structures of Molecular Machines in Liquid Crystal Polymers
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Programmable molecular alignments of liquid crystal polymers provide various actuation modes upon exposure to external stimuli. Azobenzene-functionalized liquid crystal polymers mechanically deform their shapes by actinic light, and several recent studies focus on perpetual photomotility towards soft robotics applications. In this work, we varied the spacer length of the azobenzene-derived molecular machine from two to eight to systematically investigate the structure-property relationship for photomotility of the light-fueled soft robots. The light induced deformation of 2D film into 3D helix and locomotion of the soft robots were achieved by irradiation of broad spectrum UV-Vis light. Remarkably, sub-μg limbness liquid crystal soft robot demonstrates a large velocity in terms of body length/s in comparison with other walking robotic systems. Futhermore, molecularly engineered soft robots successfully climbed stairs which is an important task in robotic systems.