Poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS)-based materials with improved photoactuation properties were prepared by the incorporation of polymer-grafted graphene oxide particles. The modification of the graphene oxide (GO) surface was achieved via a surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI ATRP) of methyl methacrylate and butyl methacrylate. The modification was confirmed by thermogravime...

We present a cleanroom-free, simple and low-cost fabrication approach utilizing a laser-cut tape for rapidly patterning slurry-like elastomer composites. A conductive polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite was chosen for demonstration in this paper due to its wide use of sensing and heating in many applications. Two fabrication schemes were developed: embedding in a PDMS matrix and relieving on ...

Deformable polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic devices embedded with three differently-shaped obstacles (hexagon, square, and triangle) were used to examine the significant challenge to classical fluid dynamics. The significant factors in determining a quasi-steady state value of flow velocity (v)QS and pressure drop per unit length (∆P/∆x)QS were dependent on the characteristic of embedde...

The compatibility of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) channels with certain solvents is a well known problem of soft lithography techniques, in particular when it leads to the swelling of the PDMS blocks. However, little is known about the modification of microchannel geometries when they are subjected to swelling solvents. Here, we experimentally measure the deformations of the roof of PDMS microch...

A new and simplified approach for making cathodes for microbial fuel cells (MFCs) was developed by using metal mesh current collectors and inexpensive polymer/carbon diffusion layers (DLs). Rather than adding a current collector to a cathode material such as carbon cloth, we constructed the cathode around the metal mesh itself, thereby avoiding the need for the carbon cloth or other supporting ...

The focus of this study is to investigate the mechanical properties and fracture behaviour of polydimethylsiloxane filled crystalline silica composites (PDMSJCS) via tensile test. The PDMSICS composites were fabricated by using casting method and cured at room temperature for 24 hours. Crystalline silica were filled into PDMS at composition of 2, 6, 10 wt%. The tensile properties of PDMS/2wt%CS...

Flexible strain sensors have received increasing attention with the development of wearable electronic devices. However, integrating wide detection range, high sensitivity while maintaining relatively linear response range for such sensor system still remain a challenge. A fabric based flexible (S-CNT/PDMS-F) was designed and fabricated, can simultaneously achieve sensitivity, by combining self...

This paper describes a method for fabricating three-dimensional (3D) microfluidic channel systems in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) with complex topologies and geometries that include a knot, a spiral channel, a "basketweave" of channels, a chaotic advective mixer, a system with "braided" channels, and a 3D grid of channels. Pseudo-3D channels, which are topologically equivalent to planar channe...

Poly(dimethylsiloxane) or PDMS is an excellent material for replica molding, widely used in microfluidics research. Its low elastic modulus, or high deformability, assists its release from challenging molds, such as those with high feature density, high aspect ratios, and even negative sidewalls. However, owing to the same properties, PDMS-based microfluidic devices stretch and change shape whe...