Dual-stimulus Smart Actuator and Robot-hand Based on Vapor- responsive PDMS Film and Triboelectric Nanogenerator

Intelligent actuating materials with vapor-stimulated mechanical response usually require complicated synthesizing processes or have a high cost. Here, we found that UV/O3 modified PDMS film can show spontaneous curling deformation when it encounters small alcohol molecules such as ethanol vapor. Based on the coupling of vapor responsive PDMS film and triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), a flexible actuator for object transport and a double-finger gripper for loading small objects are designed. The deformation and size changing induced by vapor stimulation help these devices to adapt to the target objects with different size, while the electrostatic force provided by TENG can move or control the target object, for instance, the double-finger gripper can clamp an object with weight of 6 g.