Graphene-Enabled Superior and Tunable Photomechanical Actuation in Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Nanocomposites

Programmable photoactuation enabled by graphene: Graphene sheets aligned in liquid crystalline elastomers are capable of absorbing near-infrared light. They thereafter act as nanoheaters and provide thermally conductive pathways to trigger the nematic-to-isotropic transition of elastomers, leading to macro scopic mechanical deformation of nanocomposites. Large strain, high actuation force, high initial sensitivity, fast reversible response, and long cyclability are concurrently achieved in nanocomposites.