MXene artificial muscles based on ionically cross-linked Ti ₃ C ₂ T _<i>x</i> electrode for kinetic soft robotics

Abstract

with poly(3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate), showing ultrafast rise time of within 1 s in DC responses, extremely large bending strain up to 1.37% in very low input voltage regime (0.1 to 1 V), long-term cyclic stability of 97% up to 18,000 cycles, markedly reduced phase delay, and very broad frequency bandwidth up to 20 Hz with good structural reliability without delamination under continuous electrical stimuli. These artificial muscles were successfully applied to make an origami-inspired narcissus flower robot as a wearable brooch and dancing butterflies and leaves on a tree as a kinetic art piece. These successful demonstrations elucidate the wide potential of MXene-based soft actuators for the next-generation soft robotic devices including wearable electronics and kinetic art pieces.