Robust Jumping Actuator with a Shrimp-Shell Architecture

It is highly desirable to develop compact- and robust-film jumping robots that can withstand severe conditions. Besides, the demands for strong actuation force, large bending curvature in a short response time, and good environmental tolerance are significant challenges to the material design. To address these challenges, this paper reports the fabrication of a thin-film jumping actuator, which exhibits a shrimp-shell architecture, from a conjugated ladder polymer (cLP) that is connected by carbon nanotube (CNT) sheets. The hierarchical porous structure ensures the fast absorption and desorption of organic vapor, thereby achieving a high response rate. The actuator does not exhibit shape distortion at temperatures of up to 225 °C and in concentrated sulfuric acid, as well as when immersed in many organic solvents. This work avails a new design strategy for high-performance actuators that function under harsh and complicated conditions.