A supramolecular non-mesogenic route towards autonomous liquid crystal elastomer soft robots.

Changfei He, Yufan Yang, Hong Wan, Ning Zheng, Yibao Li, Tao Xie

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Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Changfei HeSchool of Chemistry and Materials, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou, China. hechangfei@gnnu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0001-1795-9336

Yufan YangSchool of Chemistry and Materials, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou, China.

Hong WanState Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering and Low-carbon Technology, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.

Ning ZhengState Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering and Low-carbon Technology, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8114-553X

Yibao LiSchool of Chemistry and Materials, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou, China.

Tao XieState Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering and Low-carbon Technology, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. taoxie@zju.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0222-9717

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Liquid crystal elastomers are unique choices for designing the next generation soft robots. Their synthesis relies exclusively on the polymerization/crosslinking of reactive mesogens with high molecular rigidity, necessitating high energy input to disrupt the molecular order for their actuation function. We report a non-mesogenic route towards designing liquid crystal elastomers. The monomeric precursors are non-mesogenic, but the supramolecular interactions are amplified in the polymerized network due to their cooperative nature, leading to liquid crystallinity. This allows resolving the common conflict between high actuation strain and low energy input, making it possible to design soft robots that can operate autonomously by harnessing the serendipitous energy from natural environments. Our molecular design broadens the scope of liquid crystalline materials, with potential implications beyond elastomeric actuators.

Identifiers

PMID42098157

DOI10.1038/s41467-026-72965-w

PMCPMC13357538

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.