Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, 215123, Suzhou, Jiangsu, P. R. China.
Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany.
Nat Commun. 2020 Aug 10;11(1):3988. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-17775-4.
Stimuli-responsive hydrogel actuators have promising applications in various fields. However, the typical hydrogel actuation relies on the swelling and de-swelling process caused by osmotic-pressure changes, which is slow and normally requires the presence of water environment. Herein, we report a light-powered in-air hydrogel actuator with remarkable performances, including ultrafast motion speed (up to 1.6 m/s), rapid response (as fast as 800 ms) and high jumping height (~15 cm). The hydrogel is operated based on a fundamentally different mechanism that harnesses the synergetic interactions between the binary constituent parts, i.e. the elasticity of the poly(sodium acrylate) hydrogel, and the bubble caused by the photothermal effect of the embedded magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles. The current hydrogel actuator exhibits controlled motion velocity and direction, making it promising for a wide range of mobile robotics, soft robotics, sensors, controlled drug delivery and other miniature device applications.
刺激响应水凝胶致动器在各个领域具有广阔的应用前景。然而，典型的水凝胶致动依赖于渗透压变化引起的溶胀和去溶胀过程，这一过程较为缓慢，通常需要水环境的存在。在此，我们报道了一种基于光的空气中水凝胶致动器，具有显著的性能，包括超快的运动速度（高达 1.6m/s）、快速响应（快至 800ms）和高跳跃高度（约 15cm）。该水凝胶的工作原理基于一种完全不同的机制，利用二元组成部分之间的协同相互作用，即聚（丙烯酸 钠）水凝胶的弹性和嵌入的磁性氧化铁纳米粒子的光热效应产生的气泡。当前的水凝胶致动器可以控制运动速度和方向，有望在移动机器人、软机器人、传感器、控制药物输送和其他微型设备应用中得到广泛应用。
