Thermoresponsive Hydrogels with Improved Actuation Function by Interconnected Microchannels
Stimuli−responsive hydrogels are important in soft actuators research, as they change volume in response to environmental factors. Thermoresponsive hydrogels, such as poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM), typically have slow response rates and exert comparably weak forces, which usually limit their...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Advanced Intelligent Systems |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/aisy.202100081 |
| _version_ | 1818755752004681728 |
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| author | Tobias Spratte Christine Arndt Irene Wacker Margarethe Hauck Rainer Adelung Rasmus R. Schröder Fabian Schütt Christine Selhuber-Unkel |
| author_facet | Tobias Spratte Christine Arndt Irene Wacker Margarethe Hauck Rainer Adelung Rasmus R. Schröder Fabian Schütt Christine Selhuber-Unkel |
| author_sort | Tobias Spratte |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Stimuli−responsive hydrogels are important in soft actuators research, as they change volume in response to environmental factors. Thermoresponsive hydrogels, such as poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM), typically have slow response rates and exert comparably weak forces, which usually limit their use as artificial muscles. Herein, it is shown that the incorporation of interconnected microchannels into the pNIPAM hydrogel by a template‐assisted approach leads to a significant increase in both the response rate and the volume change. For a microchannel density of only 5 vol%, a volume reduction of 90% is achieved, compared with only 12% for the bulk material, while material stiffness of the swollen hydrogels remains unchanged. By tailoring the channel density and the stiffness of the material, it is further possible to adjust the response rate and the exerted stroke force in an actuation setting. It is shown in a demonstrator gripper setup driven by the pNIPAM‐based artificial muscle that the performance of the gripper is strongly improved by the microengineered material compared with conventional bulk pNIPAM. The strategy of incorporating microchannels into the pNIPAM hydrogel provides a practical approach for the future use of volume phase transition‐based responsive materials in soft robotic applications. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T05:44:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a568d5b902704497939a236191a34072 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2640-4567 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T05:44:08Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advanced Intelligent Systems |
| spelling | doaj.art-a568d5b902704497939a236191a340722022-12-21T21:19:06ZengWileyAdvanced Intelligent Systems2640-45672022-03-0143n/an/a10.1002/aisy.202100081Thermoresponsive Hydrogels with Improved Actuation Function by Interconnected MicrochannelsTobias Spratte0Christine Arndt1Irene Wacker2Margarethe Hauck3Rainer Adelung4Rasmus R. Schröder5Fabian Schütt6Christine Selhuber-Unkel7Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering (IMSE) Heidelberg University Heidelberg 69120 GermanyInstitute for Molecular Systems Engineering (IMSE) Heidelberg University Heidelberg 69120 GermanyCryo Electron Microscopy Centre for Advanced Materials (CAM) Heidelberg University Heidelberg 69120 GermanyFunctional Nanomaterials, Institute for Materials Science Kiel University Kiel 24143 GermanyFunctional Nanomaterials, Institute for Materials Science Kiel University Kiel 24143 GermanyCryo Electron Microscopy Centre for Advanced Materials (CAM) Heidelberg University Heidelberg 69120 GermanyFunctional Nanomaterials, Institute for Materials Science Kiel University Kiel 24143 GermanyInstitute for Molecular Systems Engineering (IMSE) Heidelberg University Heidelberg 69120 GermanyStimuli−responsive hydrogels are important in soft actuators research, as they change volume in response to environmental factors. Thermoresponsive hydrogels, such as poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM), typically have slow response rates and exert comparably weak forces, which usually limit their use as artificial muscles. Herein, it is shown that the incorporation of interconnected microchannels into the pNIPAM hydrogel by a template‐assisted approach leads to a significant increase in both the response rate and the volume change. For a microchannel density of only 5 vol%, a volume reduction of 90% is achieved, compared with only 12% for the bulk material, while material stiffness of the swollen hydrogels remains unchanged. By tailoring the channel density and the stiffness of the material, it is further possible to adjust the response rate and the exerted stroke force in an actuation setting. It is shown in a demonstrator gripper setup driven by the pNIPAM‐based artificial muscle that the performance of the gripper is strongly improved by the microengineered material compared with conventional bulk pNIPAM. The strategy of incorporating microchannels into the pNIPAM hydrogel provides a practical approach for the future use of volume phase transition‐based responsive materials in soft robotic applications.https://doi.org/10.1002/aisy.202100081hydrogelsmicroengineeringporous materialsresponsive materialssoft actuators |
| spellingShingle | Tobias Spratte Christine Arndt Irene Wacker Margarethe Hauck Rainer Adelung Rasmus R. Schröder Fabian Schütt Christine Selhuber-Unkel Thermoresponsive Hydrogels with Improved Actuation Function by Interconnected Microchannels Advanced Intelligent Systems hydrogels microengineering porous materials responsive materials soft actuators |
| title | Thermoresponsive Hydrogels with Improved Actuation Function by Interconnected Microchannels |
| title_full | Thermoresponsive Hydrogels with Improved Actuation Function by Interconnected Microchannels |
| title_fullStr | Thermoresponsive Hydrogels with Improved Actuation Function by Interconnected Microchannels |
| title_full_unstemmed | Thermoresponsive Hydrogels with Improved Actuation Function by Interconnected Microchannels |
| title_short | Thermoresponsive Hydrogels with Improved Actuation Function by Interconnected Microchannels |
| title_sort | thermoresponsive hydrogels with improved actuation function by interconnected microchannels |
| topic | hydrogels microengineering porous materials responsive materials soft actuators |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/aisy.202100081 |
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