Construction of a near-infrared light-controlled reciprocating piston “pump” based on soft actuators with fluorine-containing alternating polymer

Abstract

Stimuli-responsive liquid crystal polymer networks (LCNs) have carved a new path for remote actuation and soft actuators. However, it is still a great challenging work to prepare LCNs with excellent high strength and anti-fatigue properties fitting the transmission model. Herein, for the first time, a prototype of a photocontrolled reciprocating piston “pump” is designed based on near-infrared (NIR) responsive LCNs with alternating fluorine-containing polymer chains. The introduction of fluorinated polymer chains greatly enhances the mechanical strength, extends the durability of the LCNs, and results in the rapid, accurate and lasting NIR-controlled transportation of liquid via the model pump. Amazingly, if the NIR light source is fixed to cycle on for 15 s and off for 20 s automatically, the as-prepared NIR-controlled pump can transport 0.5 mL of liquid each cycle (35 s) and work uninterruptedly for more than 1.0 h without any manually assisted operation.