Nanomolecular Actuation for a new Generation of Artificial Muscles – NAGAM

Nowadays, the development of "artificial muscles" is in full swing because this technology will allow significant progress in areas as important as robotics and medicine. The NAGAM project proposes to create nanocomposite materials for a new generation of artificial muscles based on spin crossover iron coordination complexes. Through an innovative combination of molecular, colloidal and polymer engineering, these new materials will be endowed with electrical actuation, motion generation and self-sensing properties, which will be a major scientific breakthrough. Indeed, the major leap from molecular switches to macroscopic machines relies on the idea of assembling a large number of molecules or nano-objects that act in unison. This will be achieved through long range spatial ordering in between active nano-objects and polymers leading to synergistic composite materials. Adequate design of the physicochemical architecture will be necessary to enable the transmission and amplification of the molecular motion for the final use of these materials within artificial muscles. NAGAM will move towards the design of "contractile tissues" based on these smart nanomaterials to mimic simple muscular patterns, a prerequisite before embarking on the future realization of "soft robots". This ambitious and multidisciplinary project should allow, in the long term, a significant jump in the state of the art and the societal exploitation of these new actuator technologies.