A photothermal soft actuator based on graphene/PDMS composite materials reinforced by carbon fiber skeleton

Soft actuators have garnered significant attention due to their promising applications in wearable devices, soft robotics, and other related fields. However, achieving substantial reversible deformation and high output force simultaneously remains a long-standing challenge. In this study, graphene/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite materials with high photothermal conversion efficiency and rapid photo-responsiveness were successfully developed. Inspired by the structure of biological muscles and skeletons, a novel approach involving carbon fiber bundles as reinforcement skeletons was proposed to enhance actuator performance. A composite material/carbon fiber skeleton/PDMS actuator was fabricated. With the integration of the carbon fiber skeleton, the actuator demonstrated a remarkable bending angle of 90° (3.5 times greater than that of actuators without the carbon fiber skeleton) and an output force of 0.89 mN (1.34 times higher than that of actuators without the carbon fiber skeleton) under infrared laser irradiation at 4.15 W/cm². This advanced actuator holds great potential for applications in areas such as soft robotic grippers and artificial muscles that demand high load-bearing capacity.