Photoresponsive soft actuators with the unique merits of flexibility, contactless operation, and remote control have huge potential in technological applications of bionic robotics and biomedical devices. Herein, a facile strategy was proposed to prepare an intrinsically-photoresponsive elastomer by chemically grafting carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into a thermally-sensitive liquid-crystalline elastomer (LCE) network. Highly effective dispersion and nematic orientation of CNTs in the intrinsic LCE matrix were observed to yield anchoring energies ranging from 1.65 × 10⁻⁵ J m⁻² to 5.49 × 10⁻⁷ J m⁻², which significantly enhanced the mechanical and photothermal properties of the photoresponsive elastomer. When embedding an ultralow loading of CNTs (0.1 wt%), the tensile strength of the LCE increased by 420% to 13.89 MPa (||) and 530% to 3.94 MPa (⊥) and exhibited a stable response to repeated alternating cooling and heating cycles, as well as repeated UV and infrared irradiation. Furthermore, the shape transformation, locomotion, and photo-actuation capabilities allow the CNT/LCE actuator to be applied in high-definition biomechanical applications, such as phototactic flowers, serpentine robots and artificial muscles. This design strategy may provide a promising method to manufacture high-precision, remote-control smart devices.

Liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) are lightly crosslinked polymers that combine liquid crystalline order and rubber elasticity. Owing to their unique anisotropic behavior and reversible shape responses to external stimulation (temperature, light, etc.), LCEs have emerged as preferred candidates for actuators, artificial muscles, sensors, smart robots, or other intelligent devices. Herein, we discuss the basic action, control mechanisms, phase transitions, and the structure–property correlation of LCEs; this review provides a comprehensive overview of LCEs for applications in actuators and other smart devices. Furthermore, the synthesis and processing of liquid crystal elastomer are briefly discussed, and the current challenges and future opportunities are prospected. With all recent progress pertaining to material design, sophisticated manipulation, and advanced applications presented, a vision for the application of LCEs in the next generation smart robots or automatic action systems is outlined.

This work presents a versatile strategy to fabricate nanointerfacial-slipping-restricted photoactuation elastomers by chemically bonding the nanofillers into a thermally actuatable liquid crystal network for long-term stable cycling photoactuation.

Manufacturing flexible integrated sensing systems by combining versatile printable inks and diverse printing techniques allows for the monolithic utilization of the electrochemical/sensing performance of individual devices. Herein, we developed an integration strategy for fabricating high-performance flexible integrated sensing systems by utilization of multi-dimensional printable MXene electrodes. With branched polyethyleneimine (BPEI) serving as joining sites and flexible spacers, the flexible printed electrodes exhibited weak self-restacking, high interlayer charge carrier transporting ability, and remarkably enhanced mechanical robustness. As a result, the printed micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) showed ultrahigh areal capacitance (3783.53 mF cm⁻² at a scan rate of 1 mV s⁻¹), outstanding flexibility (stable after 1000 bending/release cycles), high energy density (99.4 μW h cm⁻²) and high power density (18 mW cm⁻²). Besides, the printed strain sensor board displayed high sensitivity over a wide working strain range (e.g., gauge factor: 11 781.5 in the 41–52% strain range). These results represent the record values in most state-of-the-art devices. In addition, an all-in-one flexible sensing system integrated with both an MSC and a strain sensor on a flexible substrate is demonstrated, which exhibited exceptional sensitivity to body movements. This proposed strategy paves a high-efficiency pathway toward high-performance, monolithically integrated electronics.

Cross-linkable high-k polymers were synthesized to exhibit good solution-processability and high-resolution photo-patternability, and allowed for fabricating large-area flexible electronics and pattern recognition devices in a large scale.