Integrated 3D printing of flexible electroluminescent devices and soft robots

Pei Zhang; Iek Man Lei; Guangda Chen; Jingsen Lin; Xingmei Chen; Jiajun Zhang; Chengcheng Cai; Xiangyu Liang; Ji Liu

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-32126-1

Integrated 3D printing of flexible electroluminescent devices and soft robots

Nat Commun. 2022 Aug 23;13(1):4775. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-32126-1.

Authors

Pei Zhang¹, Iek Man Lei¹, Guangda Chen¹, Jingsen Lin¹, Xingmei Chen¹, Jiajun Zhang¹, Chengcheng Cai¹, Xiangyu Liang¹, Ji Liu^{2

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Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
² Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China. liuj9@sustech.edu.cn.
³ Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Biomimetic Robotics and Intelligent Systems, Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China. liuj9@sustech.edu.cn.
⁴ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Human-Augmentation and Rehabilitation Robotics in Universities, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China. liuj9@sustech.edu.cn.

Abstract

Flexible and stretchable light emitting devices are driving innovation in myriad applications, such as wearable and functional electronics, displays and soft robotics. However, the development of flexible electroluminescent devices via conventional techniques remains laborious and cost-prohibitive. Here, we report a facile and easily-accessible route for fabricating a class of flexible electroluminescent devices and soft robotics via direct ink writing-based 3D printing. 3D printable ion conducting, electroluminescent and insulating dielectric inks were developed, enabling facile and on-demand creation of flexible and stretchable electroluminescent devices with good fidelity. Robust interfacial adhesion with the multilayer electroluminescent devices endowed the 3D printed devices with attractive electroluminescent performance. Integrated our 3D printed electroluminescent devices with a soft quadrupedal robot and sensing units, an artificial camouflage that can instantly self-adapt to the environment by displaying matching color was fabricated, laying an efficient framework for the next generation soft camouflages.