High-Strength and Fast-Response Liquid Crystal Elastomer Fiber and Fabric Actuators

LCE (liquid crystal elastomer) fibers can achieve large and reversible deformation under stimulation, which has attracted widespread attention in the field of materials. Current LCE fiber production methods include 3D/4D printing that uses layer-by-layer deposition principles. While wet spinning overcomes these limitations by achieving in situ active alignment of mesogens during curing, enabling reliable kilometer-scale continuous fiber fabrication. By varying the polymerization times of LCE oligomers in spinning solutions, we achieved different polymerization degrees, resulting in distinct viscosities. We use wet spinning to prepare LCE fibers with spinning solutions of different viscosities (200, 220, 240, 260, 280, 300, and 320 mPa·s). The strength of LCE fibers prepared at a viscosity of 280 mPa·s reaches up to 170 MPa, and the tensile property reaches 520%, which is higher than those in previous representative works. Temperature response tests showed 35% reversible shrinkage within 2 s at 80 °C. In addition, by blending LCE fibers with traditional cotton yarn fabrics, we prepared smart fabrics that retain the comfort of traditional fabrics and are temperature-responsive. Under active contraction of the LCE fibers, the fabric can show a 32% reversible shrinkage. The LCE continuous fibers prepared by this method can be widely used in the textile industry, providing new insights into the field of smart textiles.