Despite the fascinating developments in design and synthesis of artificial molecular machines operating at the nanoscales, translating molecular motion along multiple length scales and inducing mechanical motion of a three-dimensional macroscopic entity remains an important challenge. The key to addressing this amplification of motion relies on the effective organization of molecular machines in a well-defined environment. By taking advantage of long-range orientational order and hierarchical structures of liquid crystals and unidirectional rotation of light-driven molecular motors, we report here photoresponsive biomimetic functions of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) by the repetitive unidirectional rotation of molecular motors using 3D printing. Molecular motors were built in the main chain of liquid crystals oligomers to serve as photoactuators. The oligomers were then used as the ink, and liquid crystal elastomers with different morphologies were printed. The obtained LCEs are able to conduct multiple types of motions including bending, helical coiling, closing of petals, and flipping of wings of a butterfly upon UV illumination, which paves the way for future design of responsive materials with enhanced complex actuating functions.

中文翻译：

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三维印刷液晶弹性体中光驱动分子马达的光响应仿生功能


尽管在纳米尺度上运行的人造分子机器的设计和合成取得了令人着迷的进展，但沿多个长度尺度转换分子运动并诱导三维宏观实体的机械运动仍然是一个重要的挑战。解决这种运动放大的关键依赖于分子机器在明确的环境中的有效组织。通过利用液晶的长程取向顺序和分层结构以及光驱动分子马达的单向旋转，我们在此报告了通过使用 3D 打印分子马达重复单向旋转来实现液晶弹性体 (LCE) 的光响应仿生功能。分子马达内置于液晶低聚物的主链中，用作光致动器。然后将低聚物用作油墨，印刷出不同形貌的液晶弹性体。所获得的 LCE 能够进行多种类型的运动，包括弯曲、螺旋卷曲、花瓣闭合以及在紫外线照射下翻转蝴蝶翅膀，这为未来设计具有增强的复杂驱动功能的响应材料铺平了道路。