Materials: Tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS, 98%), aqueous ammonia (28%) were purchased from Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co. Ltd.. Carbon black (99.5%, 30 nm) was purchased from Aladdin Co. Ltd.. Ethylene glycol (EG, 99%) and ethanol (99.9%) were purchased from J&K Co. Ltd.. Poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA, Mn=360) and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA, Mn=700) was purchased from Si...

The development of flexible polymer monofilament fiber strain sensors have many applications in both wearable computing (clothing, gloves, etc.) and robotics design (large deformation control). For example, a high-stretch monofilament sensor could be integrated into robotic arm design, easily stretching over joints or along curved surfaces. As a monofilament, the sensor can be woven into or int...

An optofluidic 1x4 switch is designed, fabricated, and tested. The switch is based on a blazed diffraction grating imprinted onto silicone elastomer at the bottom of a microfluidic channel that is filled with liquids with different refractive indices. When the condition of a diffraction maximum is met, the laser beam incident on the grating is deflected by an angle proportional to the refractiv...

Dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) micro- and nano-structures are referred to artificial muscles because of their specific continuous power and adequate time response. The bending measurement of an asymmetric, planar DEA is described. The asymmetric cantilevers consist of 1 or 5 μm-thin DEAs deposited on polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) substrates 16, 25, 38, or 50 μm thick. The application of a...

We demonstrate a simple one-step method for synthesizing noble metal nanoparticle embedded free standing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite films. The process involves preparing a homogenous mixture of metal salt (silver, gold and platinum), silicone elastomer and the curing agent (hardener) followed by curing. During the curing process, the hardener crosslinks the elastomer and simultaneous...

We introduce a family of soft-matter capacitors and inductors composed of microchannels of liquid-phase gallium–indium–tin alloy (galinstan) embedded in a soft silicone elastomer (Ecoflex R © 00-30). In contrast to conventional (rigid) electronics, these circuit elements remain electronically functional even when stretched to several times their natural length. As the surrounding elastomer stre...

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM Maxillofacial prostheses are serviceable for approximately 6 months, after which they need to be refabricated because of the deterioration of color and physical properties. PURPOSE This third article in a 3-part series evaluated the color stability of commonly used colorant-elastomer combinations as a result of exposure to weathering. METHODS AND MATERIAL Fifteen specim...

The purpose of this study was to describe quantitatively the geometric organization of the pulmonary alveolar capillary bed. Conventional representation of these vessels as a tight network of circular cylindrical tubes (tube-flow model) was contrasted with a suggested alternative of a continuous sheet bounded on two sides by endothelium held apart by connective tissue and cellular posts (sheet-...

A micro-pillar-based silicone rubber adhesive coated with a thin silicone oil layer is investigated in this paper for developing friction-based clamping mechanisms for robotic endoscopic microcapsules. These adhesives are shown to enhance the frictional force between the capsule and the intestinal wall by a factor of about seven over a non-patterned flat elastomer material. In this study, tests...