Photoelectric synergistic response properties of the Ti3C2Tx MXene-CNT/PDMS bilayer actuator

Stimuli-responsive soft actuators, which are expected to supplement or replace traditional rigid actuators, have attracted enormous research and developed rapidly since their discovery. Among them, the most representative light and electrical stimulus-responsive actuators have been extensively studied, but the mechanism and performance of the photoelectric synergistic stimulus response of actuators are rarely studied. Herein, through vacuum-assisted filtration and hot pressing, a Ti3C2Tx MXene-CNT/PDMS bilayer actuator is designed and manufactured to realize the photoelectric synergistic stimulus strategy based on photothermal and electrothermal actuation. The photoelectric synergistic mechanism is clearly stated, the equivalence relation for the photoelectric synergistic response is summarized, and the order-independence rule that the input order of stimuli does not affect the response angle is found. Moreover, a soft mechanism is devised to drive the reciprocating motion of the slider to broaden the application of the soft actuator. This study opens a new insight into the soft actuator field and provides reliable guidance for dispersing and reducing the energy of stimuli.