Responsive soft actuators with MXene nanomaterials

Abstract Compared with traditional rigid actuators, soft actuators exhibit a large number of advantages, including enhanced flexibility, reconfigurability, and adaptability, which motivate us to develop artificial soft actuators with widespread applications. Soft actuators with MXene nanomaterials are regarded as highly promising candidates for advancing the development of bioinspired soft robotics as a consequence of their unprecedented physicochemical characteristics, such as high electronic conductivity, thermal conductivity, photothermal conversion capability, and abundant surface functional groups. Herein, a comprehensive overview of the recent advancement of soft actuators with MXene nanomaterials and their extensive applications from the perspective of bioinspiration is provided. First, synthetic methods of MXene and their properties are briefly summarized. Subsequently, soft actuators with MXene nanomaterials (including photoresponsive soft actuators, electroresponsive soft actuators, and chemoresponsive soft actuators) are sequentially investigated with a focus on the fabrication approaches, actuation properties, underlying mechanisms, and promising applications. At the end, the future challenges and opportunities for the rapid development of soft actuators with MXene nanomaterials are discussed.