Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) announced on the 5th that Oh Min-taek, a doctoral candidate in the research team of Professor Kwang-woon Jeong (Department of Polymer -Nano Science &Technology; Graduate School, Department of Nano Convergence Engineering), has developed a smart artificial skin that can precisely detect various stimuli and respond through shape changes by using a newly developed polymer material that reacts to light and electricity.

The research results were selected as the cover paper for the February 2024 issue of Advanced Functional Materials (IF = 19.0), a prestigious international journal in the field of materials engineering.

Inspired by the fact that the human nervous system transmits signals electrically and the brain receives those signals to drive body movement, the research team developed a liquid crystal monomer containing photoresponsive azobenzene and ionic bonding. They secured core technology to manufacture it as a liquid crystal elastomer material.

The developed material functions as an actuator that produces mechanical motion in response to light and heat, while also serving as an ion sensor capable of precisely detecting subtle environmental and mechanical changes.

In particular, by introducing a novel azobenzene-based ionic compound into existing liquid crystal elastomers, this research demonstrates that the material can be flexible yet capable of precise environmental sensing and refined actuation, indicating potential applications in future soft-robotics materials.

Oh Min-taek, the graduate student who led the study as first author, said, "With the advancement of AI and the robotics industry, flexible materials that can detect and respond to external environmental changes are expected to have very high utility and demand in the field of robotic materials. As demonstrated in the paper, artificial skin that can detect various stimuli and respond mechanically can provide robots with environmental information and enable precise actuation through physical changes, so it is expected to be widely used in the robotic materials industry."

Meanwhile, this research was carried out with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea through the Basic Research Laboratory Support Program and the Mid-Career Researcher Support Program.