Ultra-High Actuation Stress Polymer Actuators as Light-Driven Artificial Muscles.

Remotely addressable actuators are of great interest in fields like microrobotics and smart textiles because of their simplicity, integrity, flexibility, and lightweight. However, most of the existing actuator systems are composed of complex assemblies and/or offer a low response rate. Here, the actuation performance of a light-driven, highly oriented film based on ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE), containing a photo-responsive additive, 2-(2-benzotriazol-2-yl)-4,6-ditertpentylphenol (BZT), is reported.