Zhang Lixin, Han Conghui, Luo Weihua, Chen Xushuai, Chen Xi, Yan Luke
Department of Polymer Materials and Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chang'an University, Xi'an 710064, China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2024 Oct 2. doi: 10.1021/acsami.4c11895.
Natural tissues, like ligaments and tendons, display not just robust mechanical performance but also complex anisotropic structures extending beyond one-directional arrangements. However, fabricating hydrogel actuators with biomimetic three-dimensional anisotropy remains challenging. Herein, a simple strategy involving curving-stretching induced alignment is proposed to prepare anisotropic Fe-cross-linked poly(acrylic acid)-poly(acrylamide) hydrogel actuators. These hydrogels exhibit exceptional mechanical properties, boasting a fracture stress of 7.1 MPa and a superior modulus of 33.2 MPa when prestretched to 200% strain, which are 2.3 times and 4.9 times higher than their unstretched counterparts. The stretched anisotropic hydrogel gripper, stronger than its unstretched counterpart, can lift heavy objects while also achieving rapid responsiveness to stimuli. This work introduces a novel and effective method for fabricating anisotropic hydrogels, highlighting their broad applicability in fields such as soft robotics, biomedical devices, and beyond.
天然组织，如韧带和肌腱，不仅具有强大的力学性能，还具有超越单向排列的复杂各向异性结构。然而，制造具有仿生三维各向异性的水凝胶致动器仍然具有挑战性。在此，提出了一种涉及弯曲拉伸诱导排列的简单策略来制备各向异性铁交联聚（丙烯酸）-聚（丙烯酰胺）水凝胶致动器。这些水凝胶表现出优异的力学性能，在预拉伸至200%应变时，断裂应力为7.1 MPa，模量高达33.2 MPa，分别是未拉伸时的2.3倍和4.9倍。拉伸后的各向异性水凝胶抓手比未拉伸时更强，能够提起重物，同时对刺激具有快速响应能力。这项工作介绍了一种制造各向异性水凝胶的新颖有效方法，突出了其在软机器人、生物医学设备等领域的广泛适用性。
