Development of Direct-Laser-Printable Light-Powered Nanocomposites

Four-dimensional (4D) printable light-powered materials have emerged as a new generation of materials for the development of functional devices. The design of these types of materials is mostly based on the trans–cis transformation of azobenzene moieties in a liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE) matri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ACS applied materials & interfaces 2019-05, Vol.11 (21), p.19541-19553
Main Authors: Chen, Ling, Dong, Yuqing, Tang, Chak-Yin, Zhong, Lei, Law, Wing-Cheung, Tsui, Gary C. P, Yang, Yingkui, Xie, Xiaolin
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Four-dimensional (4D) printable light-powered materials have emerged as a new generation of materials for the development of functional devices. The design of these types of materials is mostly based on the trans–cis transformation of azobenzene moieties in a liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE) matrix, in which the motion is triggered by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. In this paper, we first report on a direct laser printable photoresist for producing light-powered 4D structures with enhanced mechanical properties and near-infrared (NIR) responsive mechanical deformation. The reported nanocomposite design is based on the photothermal effects of gold nanorods (AuNRs), which can induce the nematic-to-isotropic transition of LCE upon exposure to NIR irradiation. The miscibility between AuNRs and LCE is enhanced by thiol functionalization. Appropriate printing parameters are determined, and nanocomposites containing 0–3 wt % of AuNR loading are fabricated via femtosecond two-photon direct laser writing. The effects of the AuNR loading fraction and laser power on the light-powered actuating performance are evaluated. It is found that the nanocomposite with AuNR loading of 3 wt % demonstrates the maximum percentage (20%) of elongation under an NIR laser power of 2 W. An increase in laser power can lead to faster deformation but slower restoration. The nanocomposites demonstrate relatively good stability. Even after 300 actuation cycles, 80% of the elongation magnitude can be retained. In addition, an improvement of 80% in the complex modulus of the nanocomposites, due to the inclusion of AuNRs, is observed.
ISSN:1944-8244
1944-8252
DOI:10.1021/acsami.9b05871