Evolution of self-oscillating polymer gels as autonomous polymer systems

Self-Oscillating Structural Polymer Gels

Self-oscillating polymer gel has become a distinguished class of smart soft materials. Here we fabricated and demonstrated a self-oscillating structural gel network with the incorporation of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction. The structural polymer gel oscillates at a macroscopic level with remarkably faster kinetics compared to a normal gel of similar chemical compositions. The structural...

Shape- and size-dependent patterns in self-oscillating polymer gels†‡

Polymeric hydrogels that exhibit autonomous, coupled chemical and mechanical oscillations are a unique example of synthetic, active soft matter. Here, we explore the effects of gel aspect ratio and absolute dimensions on pattern formation in hydrogels undergoing the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction. We synthesize and analyze N-isopropylacrylamide gels containing covalently bound BZ catalyst a...

Chemomechanics of Self-Oscillating Gels

Biological materials such as cardiac and skin tissue exhibit the unique capacity to transduce mechanical stimuli into propagating electrical and chemical signals throughout the body. Few synthetic materials have been engineered to produce communicative chemical signals in response to mechanical input, though such synthetic material analogues could enable devices that mimic biological tissues an...

Artificial cilia as autonomous nanoactuators: Design of a gradient self-oscillating polymer brush with controlled unidirectional motion

A gradient self-oscillating polymer brush surface with ordered, autonomous, and unidirectional ciliary motion has been designed. The self-oscillating polymer is a random copolymer composed of N-isopropylacrylamide and ruthenium tris(2,2'-bipyridine) [Ru(bpy)3], which acts as a catalyst for an oscillating chemical reaction, the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. The target polymer brush surface was ...

Novel Self-Oscillating Polymer Actuators for Soft Robot