Photomechanical Crystals\nas Light-Activated Organic\nSoft Microrobots

In the field of materials\nscience, dynamic molecular\ncrystals have\nattracted significant attention as a novel class of energy-transducing\nmaterials. However, their development into becoming fully functional\nactuators remains somewhat limited. This study focuses on one family\nof dynamic crystalline materials and delves into exploring the efficiency\nof conversion of light energy to mechanical work. A simple setup is\ndesigned to determine a set of performance indices of anthracene-based\ncrystals as an exemplary class of dynamic molecular crystals. The\nability of these crystals to reversibly bend due to dimerization is\nrealistically assessed from the perspective of the envisaged soft\nrobotics applications, where wireless photomechanical grippers manipulate\nand assemble microscopic objects driven and controlled by light instead\nof lines and motors. The approach described here not only guides the\nquantification of responsive molecular crystals’ actuation\npotential but also aims to attract an interdisciplinary interest to\nfurther develop this class of materials into controllable all-organic\nactuating elements to be used in microrobotics for engineering or\nbiomedicine.