LAUSR

The fabrication of biobased smart materials from renewable biomasses is of great importance for sustainable development. Although lignin possesses photothermal conversion potential, the development of lignin-based actuators with large contraction and fast photoresponse has various hurdles. Herein, simply by blending with castor oil-derived polyamide elastomers, a lignin-based photoresponsive actuator can be obtained, which accomplishes up to 18% light-driven contraction under loading within 3 s. The crystals in polymer matrix serve as switch segments, firmly locking the stress-induced strain energy, which is swiftly released due to photothermal processes and induced a huge contraction. The composite, LP4-50, can contract and induce dynamic bending in multiple directions when irradiated locally with a near-infrared 808 nm laser. Furthermore, at standard 1 sun irradiation (100 mW/cm2), LP4-50 was successfully employed to power a thermoelectric generator. This strategy establishes the groundwork for further research into the photothermal characteristics of lignin and encourages new applications in stimulus-responsive actuators.