Development of epoxy resin-based two-way responsive actuator and its application in thermal stimulation soft robot

Abstract

The low-cost development of intelligent response devices with actuation functions based on epoxy resin (EP) is still a challenge. In this work, EP-PEG (pEP) was developed by melt dispersion of PEG and the hardening process of EP, and the difference in thermal and mechanical properties of pEP with different PEG content was realized. Through the prehardening-stacking-hardening process, the diffusion effect of PEG, and the regulation of thermal and mechanical properties, pEP0/pEP40 (pEP0–40) with double-layer structure realized its thermal stimulation two-way actuation function. Without external mechanical action, the developed bending pEP0–40 can reduce the bending degree in the environment of 70 ℃-90 ℃ and expand the bending degree in the cooling process. The soft robotic gripper with pEP0–40 as the unit structure can perform the “grab” function in the temperature environment of 80 ℃ and the “release” function in the cooling process. In this work, the thermal, mechanical, and shape memory properties of pEP were analyzed in detail, and the thermal stimulation two-way actuation function of pEP0–40 and its soft robotic gripper at different temperatures was investigated, which provided a reference for the low-cost development of EP-based intelligent response materials which can be used in soft robots.