A Neuron‐Readable Artificial Photoreceptor Composed of Photodeformable Liquid Crystal Polymers and Piezoelectric Materials

作者：Bo Peng, Xueli Chen, Guodong Yu, Fan Xu, Ruyi Yang, Zhenghang Yu, Jia Wei, Guodong Zhu, Lang Qin, Jiayi Zhang, Qun‐Dong Shen, Yanlei Yu · 发表于：Advanced Functional Materials · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1002/adfm.202214172 · 被引用次数：41 · 研究领域：Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials、Advanced Materials and Mechanics、Photochromic and Fluorescence Chemistry

Abstract Artificial photoreceptors are extensively developed to help the patients with serious eye diseases by converting light into electric signals. However, the existing systems still suffer from poor output signals, restricting signal transduction to cells. Here, a neuron‐readable artificial photoreceptor with significant voltage output is constructed by using photodeformable liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) and polyvinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene (P(VDF‐TrFE)). The significant voltage output originates from light‐stress‐electricity conversion, where the photo‐induced stress is attributed to the free volume expansion of the photodeformable LCPs and subsequently converts them into strong electric signals by the P(VDF‐TrFE) layer. The photo‐induced open‐circuit voltage reaches up to 0.79 ± 0.02 V, which is, to the knowledge, 19 times higher than the maximum voltage (0.04 V) that has been reported to date. Hence, such artificial photoreceptor successfully transduces photo‐induced electric signals to cells and tissues, communicates with the neurons, and triggers spiking activities in blind retinas. Besides, visual image recognition is demonstrated in a pixelated matrix by analyzing electric signals of each unit. This artificial photoreceptor opens new opportunities for the combination of the photodeformability and piezoelectricity, providing an avenue to develop neuron‐readable artificial retinas and implantable sensors.