Artificial adaptive soft infrared (IR) materials, mimicking the color-changing abilities observed in soft organisms such as cephalopods, hold significant promise in various emerging technologies, including unconventional flexible displays, intelligent camouflage systems, and advanced sensors. In this study, we integrated inherently deformable liquid metal (LM) microdroplets randomly into an elastomer matrix, creating a fully soft material that exhibits elastic compliance akin to soft biological tissue and adaptive IR-reflecting properties in response to compression. Under compressive strains, each LM inclusion behaves as a unit of dynamic IR reflector, transitioning between a contracted droplet with a corrugated surface and an expanded plate-like filler with a relatively smooth surface. These alterations in shape, size, and surface structure allow dynamic modulation of incident IR radiation’s reflection, resulting in reversible changes in IR color (i.e., detected temperature). This mechanism replicates the dynamic alterations observed in cephalopod skin, where chromatophores dynamically manipulate visible light reflection by changing their size and morphology. We demonstrate proof-of-concept applications of this material, showing its ability to modify IR appearance through compression for visualization, with its localized color-change mechanism enabling its use as a tactile sensor in vision-based tactile grippers. These illustrate the potential of this material in emerging adaptive flexible electronics.

中文翻译：

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受头足类动物启发的软复合材料，带有液态金属夹杂物，可实现可调红外调制


人工自适应软红外 （IR） 材料模仿在头足类等软生物中观察到的变色能力，在各种新兴技术中具有重要前景，包括非常规柔性显示器、智能伪装系统和先进传感器。在这项研究中，我们将固有可变形的液态金属 （LM） 微滴随机集成到弹性体基质中，创造了一种完全柔软的材料，该材料表现出类似于软生物组织的弹性柔顺性和响应压缩的自适应红外反射特性。在压缩应变下，每个 LM 夹杂物都表现为动态红外反射器的一个单元，在具有波纹表面的收缩液滴和具有相对光滑表面的膨胀板状填料之间过渡。形状、大小和表面结构的这些变化允许对入射红外辐射的反射进行动态调制，从而导致红外颜色（即检测温度）的可逆变化。这种机制复制了在头足类动物皮肤中观察到的动态变化，其中发色团通过改变其大小和形态来动态操纵可见光反射。我们演示了这种材料的概念验证应用，展示了它通过压缩来改变 IR 外观以实现可视化的能力，其局部变色机制使其能够用作基于视觉的触觉抓手中的触觉传感器。这些说明了这种材料在新兴的自适应柔性电子产品中的潜力。