The prospects of endowing artificial robotics or devices with increasingly complex and emergent life‐like behaviors have attracted growing interest in the soft functional materials that mimic the versatile motions of living creatures in the iridescent nature. However, despite the flourishing achievements so far, soft actuators capable of sensitive multi‐stimulus responses and self‐sustainable movements, have been extensively pursued to reduce control complexity yet remains a challenging target. Here, through material‐structural synergistic design incorporating stress‐mismatching structure, high pseudo‐negative coefficient of thermal expansion of perfluoro‐sulfonic acid ionomer, comprehensive converting properties of carbon nanotube, and anisotropic large thermal expansion of PE polymer, an ionomer‐based bilayer actuator is proposed, presenting high‐performance actuation of various forms and nice stability, responsive to light (including sunlight without focusing, LED light), low voltage, mild heating, and humidity/solvent change. With a built‐in structural feedback loop, the actuation performances are further explored to realize intelligent systems, including: 1) self‐sustainable locomotion under sunlight irradiation with adjustable photophobic and phototropic direction as well as adaption to different topographies and loading conditions, 2) self‐sustainable oscillation and solar‐electric generating, and 3) bionic floristic reaction according to environmental change. These diversified actuation modes allow promising following‐up designs for bio‐hybrid soft robotics fueled by and harmonized with natural environments.

Recently, attempts have been made to develop ionic polymer–metal composite (IPMC), which is garnering growing interest for ionic artificial muscle, as a soft actuator and sensor due to its inherent properties of low weight, flexibility, softness, and particularly, its efficient transformation of electrical energy into mechanical energy, with large bending strain response under a low activation voltage. In this paper, we focused on several current deficiencies of IPMC that restrict its application, such as non-standardized preparation steps, relaxation under DC voltage, solvent evaporation, and poor output force. Corresponding solutions to overcome the abovementioned problems have recently been proposed from our point of view and developed through our research. After a brief introduction to the working mechanism of IPMC, we here investigate the key factors that influence the actuating performance of IPMC. We also review the optimization strategies in IPMC actuation, including those for preparation steps, additive selection for a thick casting membrane, solvent substitutes, water content, encapsulation, etc. With consideration of the role of the interface electrode, its effects on the performance of IPMC are revealed based on our previous work. Finally, we also discuss IPMCs as potential sensors theoretically and experimentally. The elimination of the deficiencies of IPMC will promote its applications in soft robotics.

Refractory carbides are attractive candidates for support materials in heterogeneous catalysis because of their high thermal, chemical, and mechanical stability. However, the industrial applications of refractory carbides, especially silicon carbide (SiC), are greatly hampered by their low surface area and harsh synthetic conditions, typically have a very limited surface area (1,400 °C) that lasts for several or even tens of hours. Based on Le Chatelier’s principle, we theoretically proposed and experimentally verified that a low-pressure carbothermal reduction (CR) strategy was capable of synthesizing high–surface area SiC (569.9 m ² g ⁻¹ ) at a lower temperature and a faster rate (∼1,300 °C, 50 Pa, 30 s). Such high–surface area SiC possesses excellent thermal stability and antioxidant capacity since it maintained stability under a water-saturated airflow at 650 °C for 100 h. Furthermore, we demonstrated the feasibility of our strategy for scale-up production of high–surface area SiC (460.6 m ² g ⁻¹ ), with a yield larger than 12 g in one experiment, by virtue of an industrial viable vacuum sintering furnace. Importantly, our strategy is also applicable to the rapid synthesis of refractory metal carbides (NbC, Mo ₂ C, TaC, WC) and even their emerging high-entropy carbides (VNbMoTaWC ₅ , TiVNbTaWC ₅ ). Therefore, our low-pressure CR method provides an alternative strategy, not merely limited to temperature and time items, to regulate the synthesis and facilitate the upcoming industrial applications of carbide-based advanced functional materials.