Scalable, robust and durable graphene oxide@liquid crystal elastomer fiber actuator with three-dimensional complex photothermal actuation for soft robotics and smart textiles

Light-responsive liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) fibers hold considerable promise for use in the development of soft robotics and smart devices due to their flexibility and controllability. However, most of the inorganic materials with photothermal effects are incompatible with the liquid crystal elastomer matrix, which can result in unstable interfacial bonding between the inorganic materials and the organic liquid crystal system. Meanwhile, the multidimensional space deformation of liquid crystal elastomer fibers remains challenging. Here, numerous polymerizable graphene oxide (GO) monomers are employed as a photothermite, and the GO@LCE fiber actuators with stable organic-inorganic interfacial bonding are constructed by dry spinning and two-step crosslinking method. The actuators demonstrate remarkable photothermal conversion capability, and they also exhibit exceptional breaking strength, reusability and work capacity (400.7 kJ m⁻³), benefiting from the covalent bonding between the interfaces. As a proof-of-concept, light-controlled artificial muscle and micro crawler based on the one-dimensional linear motion of GO@LCE fiber actuators are successfully constructed. Importantly, GO@LCE knitted fabrics, which are capable of three-dimensional bending deformations in different degrees and forms, are skillfully woven through the design of knitted structures. This work can enhance new possibilities for the advancement of soft robotics and smart textiles.