Vitrimer-based soft actuators with multiple responsiveness and self-healing ability triggered by multiple stimuli

Summary Soft actuators are highly desirable in soft robots, electronic devices, wearable devices, etc. Both multi-stimuli responsiveness and multichannel self-healing ability are essential for soft actuators to be used in different circumstances. However, to date, research on soft actuators with multi-stimuli response or multichannel self-healing ability is scarce, and there is none on actuators with both multi-stimuli abilities. Here, we show that simply hot-pressing carbonized silk fabrics into the surface of vitrimers results in a thermosetting soft actuator that can be efficiently and repeatedly self-healed by five stimuli (light, electricity, electromagnetic wave, solvent, and heat) and can respond to four stimuli (light, electricity, heat, and solvent) simultaneously. Moreover, due to the nature of vitrimer, it is robust, sustainable, recyclable, and reprocessable. This soft actuator may greatly broaden its applications, as it is hopefully healed and actuated by a handy and facile tool when it is used in different environmental circumstances.