in this work, a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (tpue) model based on polytetramethylene glycol, toluene diisocyanate and 1,4-butanediol was selected and synthesized. according to this model two types of polyurethane nanocomposites were prepared by in situ polymerization and melt intercalation procedures. the organo-modified nanoclay was used in nanocomposites samples in 0.4 weight percent...

We fabricated a microfluidic DNA synthesizer out of perfluoropolyether (PFPE), an elastomer with excellent chemical compatibility which makes it possible to perform organic chemical reactions, and synthesized 20-mer oligonucleotides on chip.

Living systems, such as bacteria, yeasts, and mammalian cells, can be genetically programmed with synthetic circuits that execute sensing, computing, memory, and response functions. Integrating these functional living components into materials and devices will provide powerful tools for scientific research and enable new technological applications. However, it has been a grand challenge to main...

A new design for a multi-layer dielectric elastomer actuator, reinforced with periodic stiffeners is presented. The resulting actuator enables complex out-ofplane motion without the need of the elastomer membrane prestretch. An in situ optical imaging system is used to capture the complex deformation pattern and track the non-planar displacement and curvature under the applied voltage. The role...

Silicone elastomers exposed to electrical discharges can be rendered hydrophilic, and the loss of water repellency is related to the energy level and number of the discharge pulses on the surface. However, the silicone surface has the unique ability to recover the hydrophobicity and enhance the performance of a polymer insulator. Most of the studies of the loss and recovery of hydrophobicity on...

A new design for a multi-layer dielectric elastomer actuator, reinforced with periodic stiffeners is presented. The resulting actuator enables complex out-ofplane motion without the need of the elastomer membrane prestretch. An in situ optical imaging system is used to capture the complex deformation pattern and track the non-planar displacement and curvature under the applied voltage. The role...

The ability to track individual animals is crucial in many field studies and often requires applying marks to captured individuals. Toe clipping has historically been a standard marking method for wild amphibian populations, but more recent marking methods include visual implant elastomer and photo identification. Unfortunately, few studies have investigated the influence and effectiveness of m...

Textile-based transducers are an innovative category of devices that use conductive fibres meshed with elastic textile fabrics. Within this paper, a new class of strain sensors, which represents an excellent trade-off between figures of merit in mechano-electrical transduction and possibility of integration in textiles, is presented. Electrically conductive elastomer composites show piezo-resis...

It is desirable to obtain materials that have high vibration damping while maintaining other structural properties. Aerospace quality composite materials typically have greater strength and stiffness to weight ratios than most metals, while providing increased damping. However, their passive damping capacities are not enough for some applications. Fiber reinforced elastomers (FRE) or elastomer ...

Injectable materials often have shortcomings in mechanical and drug-eluting properties that are attributable to their high water contents. A water-free, liquid four-armed PEG modified with dopamine end groups is described which changed from liquid to elastic solid by reaction with a small volume of Fe3+ solution. The elastic modulus and degradation times increased with increasing Fe3+ concentra...