High-performance electroionic artificial muscles boosted by superior ion transport with Ti3C2Tx MXene/Cellulose nanocomposites for advanced 3D-motion actuation

Low-voltage driven electro-ionic soft actuators with large deformation strain are of promising candidate for high-performance artificial muscles, with practical applications in flexible electronics, biomedical assistive devices and soft robotics. However, enhancing the actuation response and long-term stability along with excellent bending properties simultaneously still remain significant challenges. Herein, an elaborate ionically crosslinked nanocomposite membrane, assembled with 1D bacterial cellulous (BC) nanofibers and 2D Ti3C2Tx MXene nanomaterials, is reported to improve constrained ion transport for high-performance electrically activated ionic actuator. The 3D interpenetrating frameworks, arising from the synergistic effects of such combination, not only serve to enhance ion selectivity through the presence of intrinsically negatively charged functional groups but also expand the initially confined pathways, thus diminishing the energy barrier to ion transport. As a result, the integrated superior functionalities of the soft actuator exhibit large bending strain of 0.88 % with the tip displacement of 10.8 mm, ultra-stable cycling performance (>99 % retention for 5 h), and ultrabroad material response range up to 18 Hz under an ultralow voltage exertion of 0.5 V. Furthermore, the demonstration of the prototype soft actuators as actuating tracking beams of 3D-adaptive motion platform for plate deformable mirror shows their potential applications of soft robotics, thereby offering a dependable solution for driving the next generation of sophisticated intelligent systems.