A 3D-printed controllably degradable light-driven water surface soft robot and driving method

Abstract

The application discloses a 3D printing controllable degradation light-driven water surface soft robot and a driving method. The robot comprises a soft rotor and a center limiting column; the lower end of the center limiting column is fixed at the bottom of a liquid environment, the upper end penetrates through the liquid surface, the soft rotor is provided with a through hole in the center, the soft rotor is horizontally arranged on the liquid surface and is sleeved on the upper end of the center limiting column, the soft rotor and the center limiting column are connected in a gap mode, and the soft rotor contains different spectrum selective materials so that different temperature differences of the soft rotor are generated under irradiation of different color lights to form different thermal gradients; the method is to irradiate different color lights to make the soft rotor generate a thermal gradient to form a tension gradient to generate power rotation, so that stirring is realized, and then a specific light is irradiated to decompose the soft rotor. The application realizes fast forward and reverse bidirectional rotation and controllable degradation through light control driving, provides a new reference for non-contact and non-damage rotation and stirring, and has great application prospect.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a light-driven soft robot in the field of soft robotics, specifically to a 3D-printed, controllably degradable light-driven water surface soft robot and its driving method. Background Technology

[0002] Light-driven soft robots are manufactured by adding photosensitive fillers to a soft material substrate, enabling them to deform and move under light. These robots are characterized by rapid response, remote controllability, and miniaturization, making them important for applications in exploration and rescue, drug delivery, and medical monitoring. The manufacturing methods for light-driven soft robots typically involve mold solidification and coating, which are cumbersome and lack integration. Finding a fast, convenient, and large-scale manufacturing method for light-driven soft robots is urgently needed. For light-driven soft robots, controllable degradation can perform specialized tasks or be used for exploration in hazardous areas, contributing to environmental protection and sustainable development. While some current light-driven soft robots possess biodegradability, this degradation process is too lengthy and cannot be controlled and rapid under command. Finding a method for controllable degradation of light-driven soft robots after they have completed their tasks remains a challenge. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem solved by this invention is to provide a 3D-printed, controllable degradable, light-driven soft water robot and its driving method, combining the advantages of integrated 3D printing manufacturing and light-driven wireless control while solving the problems of each. At the material level, dyes, diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate, and polytetrafluoroethylene micropowder are added to a polydimethylsiloxane liquid substrate to create printing ink, which can be used for integrated manufacturing of integrated printing. The soft water robot rotor is driven to rotate at high speed clockwise on the water surface using 635nm red light, and driven to rotate at high speed counterclockwise on the water surface using 532nm green light. When ultraviolet light is applied and the water surface is heated, the soft water robot rotor immediately and controllably degrades into an oily liquid.

[0004] The technical solution adopted in this invention is: I. A 3D-printed, controllable, degradable, light-driven soft water robot It includes a soft rotor and a central limiting post; the lower end of the central limiting post is fixed to the bottom of the liquid environment, and the upper end protrudes through the liquid surface. The soft rotor has a vertical through hole in its center. The soft rotor is horizontally arranged on the liquid surface and sleeved on the upper end of the central limiting post. The soft rotor and the central limiting post are connected by a gap. The soft rotor contains different spectrally selective materials, so that the soft rotor exhibits different temperature differences under the illumination of different colors of light, forming different thermal gradients, thereby causing the nearby liquid to form a tension gradient and generate power.

[0005] The soft rotor has a polygonal star structure, including multiple spindle-shaped drive blocks that extend outward from the same center. Each spindle-shaped drive block includes a forward drive block and a reverse drive block. All the forward and reverse drive blocks are arranged alternately in the circumferential direction, and adjacent forward and reverse drive blocks are symmetrically connected about the connection point.

[0006] The forward and reverse drive blocks use different spectrally selective materials, which causes different temperature differences to appear in the forward and reverse drive blocks under the illumination of different colors of light, forming different thermal gradients. This causes the liquid near the forward and reverse drive blocks to form a tension gradient and generate power.

[0007] The material composition of the forward drive block includes 35-50 parts by weight of polydimethylsiloxane, 25-35 parts by weight of polytetrafluoroethylene, 20-30 parts by weight of diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate, and 2-6 parts by weight of sodium copper chlorophyllin. The material composition of the reverse drive block includes 35-50 parts by weight of polydimethylsiloxane, 25-35 parts by weight of polytetrafluoroethylene, 20-30 parts by weight of diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate, and 1-4 parts by weight of oil red O; the central limiting post is a plastic cone connected to the bottom of the water.

[0008] II. A driving method for a 3D-printed, controllable, degradable, light-driven soft water robot. The driving methods include: The lower end of the central limiting post is fixed to the bottom of the liquid environment. The soft rotor is horizontally arranged on the liquid surface and sleeved on the upper end of the central limiting post. The soft rotor is irradiated with light of the corresponding color. A temperature difference is generated between the forward drive block and the reverse drive block inside the soft rotor, forming a thermal gradient, which in turn generates a tension gradient. This generates power to drive the soft rotor to rotate in the corresponding state to stir the liquid. The rotation is maintained until the liquid is stirred evenly. Then the light of the corresponding color is turned off, and the soft rotor is irradiated with ultraviolet light and the liquid is heated to 120°C. Under the irradiation of ultraviolet light, the soft rotor forms a controllable degradation state and decomposes into liquid.

[0009] Specifically, when light of the corresponding color shines on the soft rotor, the temperature of the corresponding color drive block rises rapidly, while the temperature of the other drive block remains almost unchanged, resulting in an uneven heat distribution on the water surface. Based on the Marangoni effect, the higher the temperature, the lower the surface tension of the water surface, thus forming a surface tension gradient on the water surface, which leads to power.

[0010] The corresponding color of light is divided into first color light and second color light, and the corresponding rotation state is divided into clockwise rotation state and counterclockwise rotation state: When the first color light shines on the soft rotor, the soft rotor rotates in the forward direction, forming a forward rotation state; When the second color light shines on the soft rotor, the soft rotor rotates in the opposite direction, forming a reverse rotation state.

[0011] The first color light is 635nm red light, and the second color light is 532nm green light.

[0012] The temperature difference between the forward drive block and the reverse drive block is adjusted by regulating the power of the light of the corresponding color, thereby changing the tension gradient between the liquids near them and thus affecting the rotation speed of the soft rotor.

[0013] The controllable degradation state specifically refers to: The soft rotor undergoes a degradation chemical reaction under ultraviolet light irradiation, decomposing into an oily liquid, thereby achieving the degradation purpose. The chemical reaction follows the degradation principle of diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate triggered by ultraviolet light. When diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate (C6H5)2I+PF6- is triggered by ultraviolet light, the iodonium salt (C6H5)2I+ absorbs a photon and decomposes into a phenyl radical C6H5 and a phenyliodocation radical C6H5I+. The phenyliodocation radical abstracts H atoms from the surrounding hydrogen source to generate hexafluorophosphate HPF6. Hexafluorophosphate is extremely unstable and can spontaneously decompose to release an F- ion. Since the bond energy of Si-F5 65 kJ / mol is greater than that of Si-O 452 kJ / mol, the F- ion further cleaves the Si-O chain of polydimethylsiloxane, breaking down the long silicon oxide chain into short chains and destroying the organosilicon network.

[0014] The beneficial effects of this invention are: Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following significant advantages: This invention achieves rapid forward and reverse bidirectional rotation and controllable degradation through light-controlled driving, providing a new reference for contactless and damage-free rotation and stirring, and has great application prospects.

[0015] 1. The 3D-printed controllable degradable light-driven water surface soft robot of the present invention uses an integrated 3D printing manufacturing method, which solves the problems of cumbersome manufacturing steps and difficulty in large-scale manufacturing of existing light-driven soft robots.

[0016] 2. The 3D-printed, controllable degradable, light-driven water surface soft robot of the present invention achieves rotation on the water surface through light drive. This drive method has the characteristics of miniaturization, wireless control, and low energy consumption, which improves the shortcomings of existing soft robot pneumatic and other drive methods.

[0017] 3. The 3D-printed controllable degradable light-driven water surface soft robot of the present invention realizes the controllable degradation of the light-driven soft robot, which can be rapidly degraded at any time under command, thus solving the problem that the light-driven soft robot cannot be controlled to degrade. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the light-driven water surface soft robot in this invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the components of a soft rotor on the water surface; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the motion principle of the light-driven soft surface robot in this invention. Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the controllable degradation process of a soft rotor on the water surface; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the non-contact stirring process of the light-driven water surface soft robot in this invention.

[0019] In the diagram: 1. Soft rotor on water surface, 11. Forward drive block, 12. Reverse drive block, 2. Center limit post. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0021] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the robot includes a soft rotor 1 and a central limiting post 2. The lower end of the central limiting post 2 is fixed to the bottom of the liquid environment, and the upper end protrudes from the liquid surface. The soft rotor 1 has a vertical through hole in the center for inserting the central limiting post 2. The soft rotor 1 is horizontally floating on the liquid surface and is sleeved on the upper end of the central limiting post 2, so that the soft rotor 1 does not deviate from its position when rotating. The soft rotor 1 and the central limiting post 2 are connected by a gap. The soft rotor 1 contains different spectrally selective materials, so that different parts of the soft rotor 1 will have different temperature differences under the illumination of different colors of light, forming different thermal gradients, thereby causing the nearby liquid to form a tension gradient and generate power.

[0022] The soft rotor 1 has a polygonal star structure, including multiple identical spindle-shaped drive blocks that extend outward from the same center. All the spindle-shaped drive blocks are arranged circumferentially, and adjacent spindle-shaped drive blocks are fixedly connected by corresponding inclined sides. Each spindle-shaped drive block includes a forward drive block 11 and a reverse drive block 12. All forward drive blocks 11 and reverse drive blocks 12 are arranged alternately along the circumference of the soft rotor 1. Adjacent forward drive blocks 11 and reverse drive blocks 12 are symmetrical about the connection point and fixedly connected.

[0023] Specifically, the soft rotor 1 has six teeth, including six forward-driving blocks 11 and six reverse-driving blocks 12. Each tooth consists of one forward-driving block 11 and one reverse-driving block 12. The forward-driving block 11 is an isosceles obtuse triangle with two base angles of 30 degrees and a vertex angle of 120 degrees. The reverse-driving block 12 is a triangle with the same shape but opposite direction to the forward-driving block 11. The base edges of each pair of forward-driving blocks 11 and reverse-driving blocks 12 contact to form a tooth, and the sides of each tooth contact each other to form the soft rotor 1. A small circular hole is removed in the center of the soft rotor 1 to accommodate a central limiting post, preventing the soft rotor 1 from deviating from its position during rotation. The soft rotor 1 is manufactured as a single 3D printed unit. Each tooth and driving block is connected by printing. A central limiting post 2 is inserted into the center of the soft rotor 1. The soft rotor 1 and the central limiting post 2 are not connected; the central limiting post 2 is adhered to the bottom of the water.

[0024] The forward drive block 11 and the reverse drive block 12 are made of different spectrally selective materials, so that different temperature differences appear in the forward drive block 11 and the reverse drive block 12 under the illumination of different colors of light, forming different thermal gradients. This causes the liquid near the forward drive block 11 and the reverse drive block 12 to form a tension gradient and generate power.

[0025] The soft rotor 1 also uses special materials, which cause the soft rotor 1 to undergo a chemical reaction under ultraviolet light irradiation. The soft rotor 1 decomposes into an oily liquid through the chemical reaction, thereby achieving the purpose of degradation.

[0026] The material composition of the forward drive block 11 includes 35-50 parts by weight of polydimethylsiloxane, 25-35 parts by weight of polytetrafluoroethylene, 20-30 parts by weight of diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate and 2-6 parts by weight of sodium copper chlorophyllin. The material composition of the reverse drive block 12 includes 35-50 parts by weight of polydimethylsiloxane, 25-35 parts by weight of polytetrafluoroethylene, 20-30 parts by weight of diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate, and 1-4 parts by weight of oil red O; the central limiting post 2 is a plastic cone connected to the bottom of the water.

[0027] The soft rotor 1 is manufactured in one piece by 3D printing. The connection between each tooth and the drive block is also printed.

[0028] A driving method for a 3D-printed, controllable degradable, light-driven soft robot on a water surface includes fixing the lower end of a central limiting post 2 to the bottom of a liquid environment, horizontally floating a soft rotor 1 on the liquid surface and fitting it onto the upper end of the central limiting post 2 to form a stirring device; irradiating the soft rotor 1 with light of a corresponding color, creating a temperature difference between the forward driving block 11 and the reverse driving block 12 within the soft rotor 1, forming a thermal gradient, which in turn generates a tension gradient, driving the soft rotor 1 to rotate and stir the liquid. This rotation continues until the liquid is uniformly stirred. Then, the corresponding color light is turned off, and the soft rotor 1 is irradiated with ultraviolet light while the liquid is heated to 120°C. Under ultraviolet light irradiation, the soft rotor 1 gradually undergoes controllable degradation, decomposing into liquid. After completing the stirring function, it controllably decomposes into liquid, achieving contactless and wasteless mixing of pigments in the liquid.

[0029] like Figure 3 As shown, when light of the corresponding color shines on the soft rotor 1, the temperature of the corresponding color drive block rises rapidly, while the temperature of the other drive block remains almost constant, creating an uneven heat distribution on the water surface. Based on the Marangoni effect, the higher the temperature, the lower the surface tension of the water, thus forming a surface tension gradient on the water surface, leading to dynamics. Specifically, as... Figure 5 As shown, the central limiting post 2 is attached to the bottom of the cup, and the water surface soft rotor 1 is placed on the central limiting post 2. Water is added to make the water level suitable for the water surface soft rotor 1, thus building a stirring device. The pigment to be stirred is added to the cup, and 635nm red light is irradiated to drive the water surface soft rotor 1 to rotate rapidly clockwise. After stirring for one minute, the red light is turned off, and the pigment has been stirred evenly. Then, ultraviolet light is irradiated and the water cup is heated. The water surface soft rotor 1 can be seen to gradually decompose. After completing the stirring function, it can be controlled to decompose into liquid, achieving non-contact and non-wasteful mixing of pigment in liquid.

[0030] Light of corresponding colors is divided into first color light and second color light, and the corresponding rotation state is divided into clockwise rotation state and counterclockwise rotation state: When the first color light shines on the soft rotor 1, the soft rotor 1 rotates in the forward direction and forms a forward rotation state; When the second color light shines on the soft rotor 1, the soft rotor 1 rotates in the opposite direction, forming a reverse rotation state.

[0031] The first color light is 635nm red light, and the second color light is 532nm green light.

[0032] Specifically, the rotation of the soft rotor 1 on the water surface is due to the difference in light absorption between the forward drive block 11 and the reverse drive block 12 when irradiated with 532nm green light or 635nm red light, thus generating different amounts of heat. The surface tension gradient of the water pushes each tooth of the soft rotor 1 to move from the side with higher temperature to the side with lower temperature, eventually achieving stable rotation. When irradiated with 532nm green light or 635nm red light, the soft rotor 1 will rotate in different directions. 635nm red light controls the soft rotor 1 to rotate in the forward direction, which is the forward rotation state, while 532nm green light controls the soft rotor 1 to rotate in the reverse direction, which is the reverse rotation state.

[0033] The temperature difference between the forward drive block 11 and the reverse drive block 12 is adjusted by regulating the power of the light of the corresponding color, thereby changing the tension gradient of the liquid near them and thus affecting the rotation speed of the soft rotor 1.

[0034] The controlled degradation state is specifically as follows: The soft rotor 1 undergoes a chemical reaction under ultraviolet light irradiation, and the soft rotor 1 decomposes into an oily liquid through the chemical reaction, thereby achieving the purpose of degradation.

[0035] Specifically, such as Figure 4 As shown, the diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate in the soft rotor 1 undergoes a chemical reaction under ultraviolet light irradiation, generating free fluoride ions, which decompose the long chain of silicon oxide in polydimethylsiloxane into short chains and destroy the organosilicon network. The other components of the soft rotor 1, dye and polytetrafluoroethylene, are dispersed powder particles that do not participate in the reaction and have almost no effect on the crosslinking and degradation process. Therefore, the soft rotor 1 is decomposed into an oily liquid. After the soft rotor 1 completes its designated task or encounters a harmful environment, irradiating the soft rotor 1 with ultraviolet light and heating it allows the soft rotor 1 to complete its degradation rapidly and controllably, which is a controlled degradation state.

[0036] While the present invention has been disclosed above with reference to preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be determined by the claims.

Claims

1. A 3D-printed, controllably degradable, light-driven soft water surface robot, characterized in that: It includes a soft rotor (1) and a central limiting post (2); the lower end of the central limiting post (2) is fixed to the bottom of the liquid environment, and the upper end protrudes from the liquid surface. The soft rotor (1) has a vertical through hole in the center. The soft rotor (1) is arranged horizontally on the liquid surface and sleeved on the upper end of the central limiting post (2). The soft rotor (1) and the central limiting post (2) are connected by a gap. The soft rotor (1) contains different spectrally selective materials so that the soft rotor (1) has different temperature differences under the illumination of different colors of light, forming different thermal gradients, thereby causing the nearby liquid to form a tension gradient and generate power. The soft rotor (1) has a polygonal star structure, including multiple spindle-shaped drive blocks that extend outward from the same center. Each spindle-shaped drive block includes a forward drive block (11) and a reverse drive block (12). All the forward drive blocks (11) and reverse drive blocks (12) are arranged alternately in the circumferential direction. Adjacent forward drive blocks (11) and reverse drive blocks (12) are symmetrical about the connection point and are fixedly connected. The material composition of the forward drive block (11) includes 35-50 parts by weight of polydimethylsiloxane, 25-35 parts by weight of polytetrafluoroethylene, 20-30 parts by weight of diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate and 2-6 parts by weight of sodium copper chlorophyllin. The material composition of the reverse drive block (12) includes 35-50 parts by weight of polydimethylsiloxane, 25-35 parts by weight of polytetrafluoroethylene, 20-30 parts by weight of diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate and 1-4 parts by weight of oil red O; the central limiting post (2) is a plastic cone connected to the bottom of the water.

2. The 3D-printed, controllably degradable, light-driven soft water surface robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The forward drive block (11) and the reverse drive block (12) are made of different spectrally selective materials, so that the forward drive block (11) and the reverse drive block (12) have different temperature differences under different colors of light, forming different thermal gradients, thereby causing the liquid near the forward drive block (11) and the reverse drive block (12) to form a tension gradient and generate power.

3. A driving method for a 3D-printed, controllable degradable, light-driven soft water surface robot as described in any one of claims 1-2, characterized in that, The driving method includes: The lower end of the central limiting post (2) is fixed to the bottom of the liquid environment. The soft rotor (1) is horizontally arranged on the liquid surface and sleeved on the upper end of the central limiting post (2). The soft rotor (1) is irradiated with light of the corresponding color. A temperature difference is generated between the forward driving block (11) and the reverse driving block (12) in the soft rotor (1), forming a thermal gradient and then a tension gradient. The power drives the soft rotor (1) to form a corresponding rotation state to stir the liquid. The rotation is maintained until the liquid is stirred evenly. Then the light of the corresponding color is turned off. The soft rotor (1) is then irradiated with ultraviolet light and the liquid is heated to 120°C. The soft rotor (1) forms a controllable degradation state under the irradiation of ultraviolet light, thereby decomposing into liquid.

4. The driving method for the 3D-printed, controllably degradable, light-driven soft water robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: The corresponding color of light is divided into first color light and second color light, and the corresponding rotation state is divided into clockwise rotation state and counterclockwise rotation state: When the first color light shines on the soft rotor (1), the soft rotor (1) rotates in the forward direction to form a forward rotation state; When the second color light shines on the soft rotor (1), the soft rotor (1) rotates in the opposite direction to form a reverse rotation state.

5. The driving method for the 3D-printed, controllably degradable, light-driven water surface soft robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: The first color light is 635nm red light, and the second color light is 532nm green light.

6. The driving method for the 3D-printed, controllably degradable, light-driven soft water surface robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: The temperature difference between the forward drive block (11) and the reverse drive block (12) is adjusted by regulating the power of the light of the corresponding color, thereby changing the tension gradient between the liquids near them and thus affecting the rotation speed of the soft rotor (1).

7. The driving method for the 3D-printed, controllably degradable, light-driven soft water robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: The controllable degradation state specifically refers to: The soft rotor (1) undergoes a degradation chemical reaction under ultraviolet light irradiation, and the soft rotor (1) decomposes into an oily liquid through the chemical reaction, thereby achieving the degradation purpose.

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