This review, titled Ionogel Actuators: A Review, addresses the core research challenges of fragmented knowledge, unclear multiscale mechanisms, and weak application orientation in the field of ionogel actuators. It constructs a tripartite analytical framework encompassing material construction, actuation mechanisms, and system integration, thereby achieving a critical leap from fragmented investigations to a systematized knowledge architecture. At the material level, the review presents a function-oriented classification of ionic liquids and polymers, systematically introducing advanced network architectures including interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs), mechanically interlocked networks (MINs), and dynamic covalent networks. The "functional synergy" design philosophy is proposed, establishing the material foundation for multimodal actuation. At the mechanistic level, the review provides a cross-scale mechanistic analysis and comparative performance analysis of seven distinct actuation modes—chemical, electrical, magnetic, thermal, humidity, optical, and mechanical—evaluating response speed, cycling durability, and load-bearing capacity to delineate the applicable boundaries of each strategy. This effort bridges the explanatory gap between microscopic molecular responses and macroscopic deformation behaviors. At the application and integration level, the review not only systematically demonstrates representative applications of ionogel actuators in microfluidics, soft robotic grippers, sensors, human-machine interfaces, and biomedicine, but also prospectively advances a "material-as-system" integration paradigm. This paradigm advocates the unification of actuation, sensing, power supply, and control within a single platform, leveraging advanced manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing, self-powered sensing, green ionic liquids, and biopolymer composites to propel ionogels toward next-generation soft actuation systems characterized by biodegradability, high biocompatibility and intelligent closed-loop control. Consequently, this review establishes, theoretically, a research paradigm for multiscale mechanistic correlation; methodologically, promotes the standardization of performance evaluation and application-oriented benchmarking; and, in terms of engineering and practical implementation, extends the frontiers of ionogel actuators to targeted drug delivery, implantable devices, and extreme-environment operations. It thereby furnishes a clear pathway and actionable design guidelines for translating intelligent soft materials from laboratory prototypes to engineered intelligent systems.
SmartBot
Literature review
Ionogel Actuators: A Review
22-Dec-2025
The authors declare no conflicts of interest