title: Transparent actuators and robots based on single-layer superaligned carbon nanotube sheet and polymer composites.
abstract: Transparent actuators have been attracting emerging interest recently, as they demonstrate potential applications in the fields of invisible robots, tactical displays, variable-focus lenses, and flexible cellular phones. However, previous technologies did not simultaneously realize macroscopic transparent actuators with advantages of large-shape deformation, low-voltage-driven actuation and fast fabrication. Here, we develop a fast approach to fabricate a high-performance transparent actuator based on single-layer superaligned carbon nanotube sheet and polymer composites. Various advantages of single-layer nanotube sheets including high transparency, considerable conductivity, and ultra-thin dimensions together with selected polymer materials completely realize all the above required advantages. Also, this is the first time that a single-layer nanotube sheet has been used to fabricate actuators with high transparency, avoiding the structural damage to the single-layer nanotube sheet. The transparent actuator shows a transmittance of 72% at the wavelength of 550 nm and bends remarkably with a curvature of 0.41 cm(-1) under a DC voltage for 5 s, demonstrating a significant advance in technological performances compared to previous conventional actuators. To illustrate their great potential usage, a transparent wiper and a humanoid robot "hand" were elaborately designed and fabricated, which initiate a new direction in the development of high-performance invisible robotics and other intelligent applications with transparency.
authors.affiliation: Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Manipulation and New Energy Materials, College of Physics and Energy, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007, China. wzhang721@163.com and Fujian Provincial Collaborative Innovation Center for Optoelectronic Semiconductors and Efficient Devices, Xiamen, 361005, China.
authors.forename: Luzhuo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Manipulation and New Energy Materials, College of Physics and Energy, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007, China. wzhang721@163.com and Fujian Provincial Collaborative Innovation Center for Optoelectronic Semiconductors and Efficient Devices, Xiamen, 361005, China.
authors.forename: Mingcen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.affiliation: Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Manipulation and New Energy Materials, College of Physics and Energy, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007, China. wzhang721@163.com and Fujian Provincial Collaborative Innovation Center for Optoelectronic Semiconductors and Efficient Devices, Xiamen, 361005, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center and Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China. chliu@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zhiwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center and Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China. chliu@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center and Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China. chliu@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Manipulation and New Energy Materials, College of Physics and Energy, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007, China. wzhang721@163.com and Fujian Provincial Collaborative Innovation Center for Optoelectronic Semiconductors and Efficient Devices, Xiamen, 361005, China.
authors.forename: Jiaxin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Manipulation and New Energy Materials, College of Physics and Energy, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007, China. wzhang721@163.com and Fujian Provincial Collaborative Innovation Center for Optoelectronic Semiconductors and Efficient Devices, Xiamen, 361005, China.
authors.forename: Zhigao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center and Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China. chliu@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Changhong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center and Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China. chliu@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Shoushan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fan