Photochemically Induced Propulsion of a 4D Printed Liquid Crystal Elastomer Biomimetic Swimmer

Photochemically Induced Propulsion of a 4D Printed Liquid Crystal Elastomer Biomimetic Swimmer

2024 | Paolo Sartori, Rahul Singh Yadav, Jesús del Barrio, Antonio DeSimone, and Carlos Sánchez-Somolinos*
This paper presents a novel biomimetic liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) swimmer inspired by the ephyra, a developmental stage of jellyfish. The swimmer is designed to mimic the lappet paddling-based propulsion mechanism of ephyrae. The key innovation is the use of azobenzene-containing macromers with a low liquid crystal to isotropic phase transition temperature, which can be extrusion-printed into precise shapes and aligned with the printing direction. These LCE elements exhibit rapid and significant photomechanical responses underwater when exposed to moderate-intensity UV and green light, driven primarily by photochemical mechanisms. The swimmer is composed of four lappets arranged in a cross shape, with each lappet having a uniaxial director orientation. When periodically illuminated with UV and green light, the lappets bend toward the light source, propelling the swimmer away from the light. This system eliminates the need for localized laser beams and tracking systems, making it versatile for creating light-fueled robotic LCE free-swimmers. The study demonstrates the potential of this approach for applications in biomedicine and cell culture due to its isothermal nature and the absence of sample heating.This paper presents a novel biomimetic liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) swimmer inspired by the ephyra, a developmental stage of jellyfish. The swimmer is designed to mimic the lappet paddling-based propulsion mechanism of ephyrae. The key innovation is the use of azobenzene-containing macromers with a low liquid crystal to isotropic phase transition temperature, which can be extrusion-printed into precise shapes and aligned with the printing direction. These LCE elements exhibit rapid and significant photomechanical responses underwater when exposed to moderate-intensity UV and green light, driven primarily by photochemical mechanisms. The swimmer is composed of four lappets arranged in a cross shape, with each lappet having a uniaxial director orientation. When periodically illuminated with UV and green light, the lappets bend toward the light source, propelling the swimmer away from the light. This system eliminates the need for localized laser beams and tracking systems, making it versatile for creating light-fueled robotic LCE free-swimmers. The study demonstrates the potential of this approach for applications in biomedicine and cell culture due to its isothermal nature and the absence of sample heating.
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