An instant multi-responsive porous polymer actuator driven by solvent molecule sorption
Qiang Zhao,John W. C. Dunlop,Xunlin Qiu,Feihe Huang,Zibin Zhang,Jan Heyda,Joachim Dzubiella,Markus Antonietti,Jiayin Yuan +8 more
TLDR
P porous polymer actuators that bend in response to acetone vapour at a speed of an order of magnitude faster than the state-of-the-art, coupled with a large-scale locomotion.Abstract:
Fast actuation speed, large-shape deformation and robust responsiveness are critical to synthetic soft actuators. A simultaneous optimization of all these aspects without trade-offs remains unresolved. Here we describe porous polymer actuators that bend in response to acetone vapour (24 kPa, 20 °C) at a speed of an order of magnitude faster than the state-of-the-art, coupled with a large-scale locomotion. They are meanwhile multi-responsive towards a variety of organic vapours in both the dry and wet states, thus distinctive from the traditional gel actuation systems that become inactive when dried. The actuator is easy-to-make and survives even after hydrothermal processing (200 °C, 24 h) and pressing-pressure (100 MPa) treatments. In addition, the beneficial responsiveness is transferable, being able to turn 'inert' objects into actuators through surface coating. This advanced actuator arises from the unique combination of porous morphology, gradient structure and the interaction between solvent molecules and actuator materials.read more
Citations
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Molecular-channel driven actuator with considerations for multiple configurations and color switching.
Jiuke Mu,Gang Wang,Hongping Yan,Huayu Li,Xuemin Wang,Enlai Gao,Hou Chengyi,Anh Thi Cam Pham,Lianjun Wu,Qinghong Zhang,Yaogang Li,Zhi Ping Xu,Yang Guo,Elsa Reichmanis,Hongzhi Wang,Meifang Zhu +15 more
TL;DR: An ambient-driven actuator that takes advantage of inherent nanoscale molecular channels within a commercial perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer (PFSA) film, fabricated by simple solution processing to realize a rapid response, self-adaptive, and exceptionally stable actuation.
Journal ArticleDOI
Soft Actuators for Small-Scale Robotics.
TL;DR: A detailed survey of ongoing methodologies for soft actuators, highlighting approaches suitable for nanometer- to centimeter-scale robotic applications, including both the development of new materials and composites, as well as novel implementations leveraging the unique properties of soft materials.
Journal ArticleDOI
Stimuli-responsive polymers and their applications
TL;DR: Recent advances in the areas of sensing and biosensing, drug delivery, and actuators are reviewed, and the group's work on poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-based microgels and assemblies is highlighted.
Journal ArticleDOI
Frontiers in poly(ionic liquid)s: syntheses and applications
TL;DR: Novel chemical structures, different synthetic strategies and controllable morphologies are introduced as a supplement to PIL systems already reported, and the primary properties determining applications, such as ionic conductivity, aqueous solubility, thermodynamic stability and electrochemical/chemical durability are discussed.
Journal ArticleDOI
Soft material for soft actuators
TL;DR: A single self-contained soft robust composite material that combines the elastic properties of a polymeric matrix and the extreme volume change accompanying liquid vapour transition is shown that could enable new kinds of electrically driven entirely soft robots.
References
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