This paper presents a unique design for tactile sensing: embedding as many receptors as possible randomly in soft material so as to provide different kinds of sensing modalities. Based on this design principle, an anthropomorphic fingertip has been developed. The fingertip consists of two silicon rubber layers of different hardness containing two kinds of receptors, strain gauges and PVDF (poly...

Abbreviations: CAPS: N-cyclohexyl-3-aminopropanesulfonic acid cDNA: omplementary DNA to mRNA CHES: N-cyclohexyl-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid. DTT: dithiothreitol FPLC: fast protein liquid chromatography IPTG: isopropylthio-β-D-galactoside LB: Luria-Bertani MES: 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid Ni-NTA: Nickel-nitriloacetic acid ORF: open reading frame PCR: polymerase chain reaction PMSF: phenyl...

The membrane fouling of an aerobic granular reactor coupled with a submerged membrane in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was evaluated. The fouling analysis was performed by applying microscopy techniques to determine the morphology and structure of the fouling layer on a polyvinylidene fluoride membrane. It was found that the main cause of fouling was the polysaccharide adsorption on the memb...

With the increasing popularity of electric vehicles, fast charging lithium (Li) batteries is attracting attention. However, rapid decline in battery capacity caused by and accidents Li dendrites piercing separator greatly restrict fast-charging applications. Herein, an electrospun polyacrylonitrile/polyvinylidene fluoride/boehmite (PAN/PVDF/12 wt.% AlO(OH)) gel polymer polyethylene oxide/polyvi...

Using first-principles simulations, we identify the microscopic origin of the nonlinear dielectric response and high energy density of polyvinylidene-fluoride-based polymers as a cooperative transition path that connects nonpolar and polar phases of the system. This path explores a complex torsional and rotational manifold and is thermodynamically and kinetically accessible at relatively low te...

Yanlong Tai and Gilles Lubineau describe the mechanism of the “self-peel-off” transfer (SPOT) technique via the temperatureand humidity-sensitive properties of both polyvinylidene-fluoride (PVDF) and nanomaterials in article number 1600370. SPOT is a promising strategy to fabricate flexible, ultrathin, and light-weighted PVDFbased nanodevices. The authors acknowledge Xavier Pita, scientific Ill...

Highly piezoelectric and pyroelectric phases of boron-nitrogen-based polymers have been designed from first principles. They offer excellent electrical and structural properties, with up to 100% improvement in the piezoelectic response and an enhanced thermal stability with respect to polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). Since methods for their synthesis are readily available, these polymers are ext...

A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based photoacoustic imaging system is reported for the first time. In this system, the MEMS-based light scanning subsystem and a ring-shaped polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) transducer are integrated into a miniaturized probe that is capable of three-dimensional (3D) photoacoustic imaging. It is demonstrated that the imaging system is able to image small ob...