Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA.
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH 45469, USA.
Soft Matter. 2023 Jul 5;19(26):4964-4971. doi: 10.1039/d3sm00394a.
Repairable adhesive elastomers are emerging materials employed in compelling applications such as soft robotics, biosensing, tissue regeneration, and wearable electronics. Facilitating adhesion requires strong interactions, while self-healing requires bond dynamicity. This contrast in desired bond characteristics presents a challenge in the design of healable adhesive elastomers. Furthermore, 3D printability of this novel class of materials has received limited attention, restricting the potential design space of as-built geometries. Here, we report a series of 3D-printable elastomeric materials with self-healing ability and adhesive properties. Repairability is obtained using Thiol-Michael dynamic crosslinkers incorporated into the polymer backbone, while adhesion is facilitated with acrylate monomers. Elastomeric materials with excellent elongation up to 2000%, self-healing stress recovery >95%, and strong adhesion with metallic and polymeric surfaces are demonstrated. Complex functional structures are successfully 3D printed using a commercial digital light processing (DLP) printer. Shape-selective lifting of low surface energy poly(tetrafluoroethylene) objects is achieved using soft robotic actuators with interchangeable 3D-printed adhesive end effectors, wherein tailored contour matching leads to increased adhesion and successful lifting capacity. The demonstrated utility of these adhesive elastomers provides unique capabilities to easily program soft robot functionality.
可修复的黏附弹性体是新兴材料，应用广泛，如软体机器人、生物传感、组织再生和可穿戴电子设备。促进黏附需要强相互作用，而自修复需要键的动态性。这种对所需键特性的对比在可修复黏附弹性体的设计中提出了挑战。此外，该新型材料的 3D 打印性能受到限制，限制了可构建几何形状的潜在设计空间。在这里，我们报告了一系列具有自修复能力和黏附性能的 3D 可打印弹性体材料。通过将硫醇-迈克尔动态交联剂引入聚合物主链来获得可修复性，而通过丙烯酸酯单体来促进黏附性。展示了具有优异伸长率高达 2000%、自修复应力恢复>95%、以及与金属和聚合物表面具有强黏附性的弹性体材料。使用商业数字光处理（DLP）打印机成功地打印了复杂的功能结构。使用具有可互换的 3D 打印黏附末端效应器的软机器人致动器，实现了对低表面能聚四氟乙烯（PTFE）物体的选择性提升，其中定制的轮廓匹配导致黏附力增加和成功提升能力。这些黏附弹性体的应用为软机器人功能的轻松编程提供了独特的能力。
