Mechanically Robust Continuous Fiber-Reinforced Composites with Synergistic Light/Electric Responsiveness and Wireless Internet of Things-Enabled Actuation
Abstract
Stimulus-responsive bilayer actuators play a vital role in next-generation intelligent systems. However, their practical applications are often hindered by limited mechanical robustness, weak interfacial adhesion, and complex fabrication processes. Herein, a scalable bilayer actuator is developed via thermal pressing of a polylactic acid (PLA) layer with continuous carbon fibers (CFs) reinforcement. The mismatch in thermal expansion coefficients between the active PLA and passive CFs layers enables programmable and complex deformation under external stimuli. The incorporation of continuous CFs endows the actuator with enhanced mechanical performance (tensile strength: 1525 MPa), while the interfacial bonding strength reaches 335 N/m, ensuring structural integrity over 500 actuation cycles. The actuator exhibits light-induced bending of 142° within 14 s under 0.9 W/cm2 illumination, and electrothermal actuation of 160° at 2.3 V. Notably, a synergistic actuation effect is observed under combined light and electrical stimulation, revealing a coupled mechanism that expands current understanding of multi-stimuli actuation. An internet of things (IoT)-enabled wireless control system is further integrated, enabling real-time manipulation of a deployable foldable structure, which could be applied to solar sail protection on space stations. This work presents a high-performance actuator platform that combines mechanical robustness, multi-responsiveness, and intelligent control, offering broad potential for applications in adaptive structural systems.