Vulcanized Layered Double Hydroxide Nanosheet Composite Hydrogels as Efficient Near-Infrared Light-Fueled Soft Actuators

Light-fueled photothermal actuators play a significantrole inspatiotemporal accurate and contactless control, and they have beenwidely applied in stimuli-responsive intelligent devices. However,traditional photothermal actuators suffer from environmental thermaldissipation, which reduces their efficiency in low-temperature conditions.To address this shortcoming, vulcanized layered double hydroxide nanosheetswith photothermal efficiency of 86.1% and outstanding hydrophilicitywere incorporated into poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)hydrogel networks to fabricate highly efficient near-infrared light-fueledsoft actuators. The generated composite hydrogels exhibit excellentactuation performances in a 0 degrees C environment, thus demonstratingtheir enhanced robustness at low temperatures. Moreover, a light-controlledvalve and bendable bilayer hydrogel actuator were produced, whichdemonstrated fast and reversible responses in water via photothermalcontraction and expansion control. This work therefore significantlybroadens the application prospects of hydrogel-based intelligent materialsin remote light-controlled devices.

Automated summary

Light-fueled photothermal actuators with vulcanized layered double hydroxide nanosheets and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)hydrogel networks were developed for efficient and robust control in low-temperature conditions. The composite hydrogels demonstrated excellent actuation performances and fast reversible responses in water via photothermal contraction and expansion control. This research significantly expands the application prospects of hydrogel-based intelligent materials in remote light-controlled devices.