Preparation and Performance Study of Light-Magnetic Driven MXene/N-Isopropylacrylamide Composite Hydrogel Self-Sensing Actuator

To address the critical issues of limited functionality, restricted actuation methods, and lack of self-sensing capabilities commonly found in current soft actuators, this paper designs and fabricates a bilayer hydrogel actuator with an anisotropic structure. This actuator employs an N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM)/MXene composite as the photothermal actuation and sensing layer, while a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/Fe₃O₄ composite serves as the magnetic moving layer (M-PDMS), successfully integrating motion and sensing functions under dual optical and magnetic stimulation. Leveraging MXene's exceptional photothermal conversion properties, the actuator undergoes complex deformations under near-infrared light control, achieving large-angle deformations from -100° to 160° within 60 seconds. Utilizing the magnetic response of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles, it enables rapid and precise movement at speeds up to ~10 mm/s under external magnetic fields, demonstrating reliable remote magnetic control navigation. Concurrently, MXene endows the actuator with outstanding strain sensing properties. The fabricated hydrogel actuator exhibits high conductivity (0.103 S/m), excellent strain sensitivity (GF = 1.57~4.59) and a wide strain range (90%). By monitoring real-time changes in electrical resistance during bending, the actuator achieves precise self-bending angle perception and recognition, laying the foundation for its application in intelligent control scenarios.