1. Visible-light-driven isotropic hydrogels as anisotropic underwater actuators
- Author
-
Yu-Xuan Su, Hong Yin, Shi-Li Xiang, Chong Li, and Ming-Qiang Zhu
- Subjects
Materials science ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,Isotropy ,Nanotechnology ,02 engineering and technology ,010402 general chemistry ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,01 natural sciences ,Pentaerythritol ,0104 chemical sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,chemistry ,Hexaarylbiimidazole ,Self-healing hydrogels ,General Materials Science ,Electrical and Electronic Engineering ,Underwater ,0210 nano-technology ,Actuator ,Reusability ,Visible spectrum - Abstract
Photo-driven hydrogel actuators have attracted tremendous attention due to their underwater photo-mechanical applications, but these critical limitations include reliance on harmful UV light, slow driving speed and limited transformation morphologies need to be further resolved. Here, the transparent polyurethane (PU) hydrogels containing dual networks of dynamic covalent crosslinked hexaarylbiimidazole (HABI) and permanent-crosslinked pentaerythritol units are fabricated and exhibit diversified anisotropic transformations in response to visible light. The underwater three-dimensional (3D) actuations including curling, twisting and folding can be spatiotemporally programmed and achieved within tens of seconds. The biomimetic flower and hydrogel wheel enable rapid photo-driven locomotion. The hydrogel actuators possess great fatigue resistance and reusability. Our work provides new insights to the design of underwater biomimetic intelligent actuators based on photochemically transformation.
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF