POLYMER
·
2025
·
IF 4.5
Qinghao Guo,Xuehao Feng,Zhizheng Gao,Xiangyu Teng,Zezheng Qiao,Chuang Zhang,Zhixing Ge,Wenguang Yang
Bioinspired crawling robots fabricated from flexible materials have received considerable attention in recent years. However, existing solutions for crawling robots capable of multi-directional locomotion primarily focus on the complex driving mode. This study explores invertebrate reptiles inspired soft crawling robots driven by near-infrared (NIR) light. A composite hydrogel with excellent photo-responsive properties is prepared by ingeniously combining poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The crawling robot, when driven by NIR light, achieves an average speed of 0.17 mm/s. It can perform complex tasks such as crawling along a predefined trajectory, crossing obstacles, and traversing mazes via remote control with NIR light. This design holds significant significance for advancing flexible crawling robots and provides valuable insights for the research of bionic robots driven by NIR light.
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产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
NEW JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY
·
2021
·Vol. 45
·期 13
·5925-5932
·
IF 3.591
Cheng Zhou,Yan Chen,Mingjun Huang,Yi Ling,Liming Yang,Guochen Zhao,Jie Chen
A dual temperature-responsive triblock polymer (poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide)-block-poly(N,N-dimethyl acrylamide)-block-poly(acrylamide-co-acrylonitrile)) (P(AM-co-AN)-b-PDMA-b-PNIPAM) (NDAA) was obtained by sequential reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization,with the uncharged UCST temperature-sensitive block P(AM-co-AN) and the classic LCST-type temperature-sensitive block PNIPAM. This well-defined thermo-responsive copolymer with tunable compositions exhibits a dual thermal response behavior in water. Properly designing the length of the block can make the block copolymer undergo a phase transition within the envisaged temperature range. When the concentration is 5 wt%, the UCST of the NDAA polymer is around 20 °C, and the LCST is around 31 °C. All three blocks of these polymers are soluble in water within 20–31 °C. At high temperature, PNIPAM hydrophobically aggregates into a core, and NDAA self-assembles into a core1 (PNIPAM)–shell (PDMA)–corona1 (P(AM-co-AN)) structure. In contrast, at low temperatures, P(AM-co-AN) forms hydrogen bonds and is insoluble in water, and NDAA self-assembles into a core2–shell–corona2 structure. In this way, it is possible to prepare spontaneously reversible micellar aggregates in water. After the concentration reaches the lowest critical concentration, the NDAA polymer can undergo a reversible gel behavior, that is, a phase transition occurs near the UCST and LCST. This change in the polarity of the micelle core opens up the possibility of dissolving different compounds in water just by changing the temperature.
研究领域:
高分子化学
·
材料科学
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DOI
高影响因子
Materials Horizons
·
2023
·Vol. 11
·期 3
·835-846
·
IF 13.3
Xiaoyong Zhang,Haoran Ding,Zhaozhao Li,Yongping Bai,Lidong Zhang
Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) is capable of improving the reversibility and responsiveness of flexible electronics. However, its phase transition-induced volume variation and poor adhesiveness remain limitations for expending its applications. Herein, a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA), which is a type of mesh scaffold, is constructed inside the network of PNIPAM, providing the hydrogel with a constant volume in response to different temperatures, in situ tunable mechanical properties, and superior adhesiveness. The reversible density of the mesh scaffold adjusts the aggregation state of the hydrogel chains, whereupon it is capable of changing its mechanical modulus from 6.7 kPa to 45.3 kPa. This mechanical mechanism contributes to hydrogel-based flexible devices for multiple applications, especially in pressure-related sensors. The mesh scaffold restricts the phase-transition-induced volume variation, which allows the hydrogel sensor to stably monitor the external pressure at various temperatures. The high adhesion enables the effective interfacial interaction with the skin, avoiding the loss of sensing signals during the detection of human body movements. When it is assembled into an electronic device, it can transmit information and recognize sign language via Morse code. Thus, herein, we report a hydrogel sensor that is promising for pressure detection in temperature-unstable environments, especially for managing the health of patients who require emergency medical care through sign language recognition.
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产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
COMPOSITES PART B-ENGINEERING
·
2025
·
IF 14.2
Yuze Zhou,Guang Yang,Yumeng Wang,Jiaying Lei,Tengling Ye,Ruipeng Huang,Shaohao Zhan,Dongyan Tang
To address oily wastewater pollution, a dual-responsive composite membrane with switchable superwettability was fabricated by in situ growth of MnO 2 microflowers on carbon fiber cloth (CFC), followed by coordination-driven self-assembly of catechol-functionalized poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM). The abundant oxygen vacancies (O v ) on MnO 2 microflowers enhanced photothermal conversion efficiency (24.99% for optimal MC 4 ) and provided active sites for robust PNIPAM anchoring via C-O-Mn coordination bonds. The resulting membrane (PMC) exhibited switchable superwettability: underwater superoleophobicity (150.10°) at 25 o C and underoil superhydrophobicity (150.27°) at 45 o C under heating or NIR irradiation. This enabled efficient separation of diverse oily pollutants, including light/heavy oil-water mixtures and emulsions, with high separation efficiency (> 99.5% for mixtures, > 99.2% for emulsions) and exceptional water flux (25239.89 L m −2 h −1 ). Taking advantages of the in situ grown of MnO 2 on CFC and strong chemical anchoring of PNIPAM on MnO 2 , the photo and thermal dual-responsive PMC membrane maintained excellent stability after mechanical (rubbing, bending, soaking) and chemical (acid/alkaline/saline) challenges, demonstrating superior reusability and durability for practical water purification applications.
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产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
Molecular Catalysis
·
2026
·
IF 4.3
Wenhui Li,Jiajia Chen,Jiaolong Fu,Zhi Chen,Xin Ju,Liangzhi Li
Design and fabrication of multifunctional charge-tunable hydrogel carriers. • Molecular docking reveals hydrogen bonding mechanisms in charge-assisted non-covalent immobilization. • PASP/PNIPAM-immobilized enzymes retain 89.7% initial activity after six cycles. • A novel biocatalytic pathway for D-xylose enables efficient rare sugar production. Immobilization of enzymatic cascades is an important tool for the efficient production of value added products, such as rare sugars from biomass monosaccharides. However, there is a lack of biocompatible and inexpensive immobilization carriers with high reusability in immobilizing multiple enzyme proteins currently. In this study, poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM) hydrogels were fabricated and employed to immobilize the enzymatic cascade of glucose isomerase (GI) and D-tagatose-3epimerase (DTE) for the conversion of D-xylose to rare sugar products, D-xylulose and D-ribulose. To attain stable protein attachment and high reusability, PNIPAM microspheres were further grafted by polyaspartic acid (PASP), polyethylene glycol (PEG), polylysine (PL), and anionic polyacrylamide (APAM), obtaining composite hydrogels with tailored surface charges to achieve effective non-covalent immobilization. The enzymatic cascades immobilized by modified PNIPAM hydrogels demonstrated improved thermal stability in the range of 40–70 °C with prolonged enzyme half-lives, and higher conversion of D-xylose. After 6 recycles, PASP/PNIPAM-GI-DTE retained 89.7% initial activity which was superior in enzyme immobilization by PNIPAM. Molecular simulation studies revealed that PASP/PNIPAM formed stable hydrogen bonds with GI and DTE, rationalizing its superior performance. This work proved charge aided immobilization of proteins as a feasible strategy for the production of biomass derived high value chemicals, and provided a practical protocol for industrial scale biomanufacturing. Download: Download high-res image (204KB) Download: Download full-size image
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DOI
高影响因子
POLYMER
·
2021
·
IF 4.43
Bing-Zi Yang,Shu-Ya Zhang,Ping-Hua Wang,Chun-Hua Liu,Yuan-Yuan Zhu
Hydrogel actuators belong to a type of smart soft materials which can take place anisotropic thrust and/or displacement under various environmental stimuli including thermal, light, pH, humidity etc . Robust strength and rapid response are of critical importance to high-performance hydrogel actuators. Here we report the syntheses and investigations of mechanical properties for series novel organic-inorganic hydrogels by using vinyl functionalized silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs) as the cross-linker. The doped SiNPs significantly enhance the mechanical strength of polyacrylamide (PAAm) hydrogels. Furthermore, the SiNPs composite poly- N -isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAm) hydrogels exhibit rapid response in deswelling and swelling behaviours. The excellent mechanical and responsive properties are attributed to the enhanced rigidity via SiNPs doping into the hydrogel network and the improved water diffusion through mPEG branch chains on the surface of nanoparticles , respectively. As a proof of concept, a bilayer PNIPAm@PAAm hydrogel actuator is facilely synthesized via an in-situ polymerization process. This composite hydrogel actuator shows extremely fast response rate of directional bending in hot water, about 6 times faster than the control without doping of SiNPs. This work demonstrates that these SiNPs composite hydrogels provide enhanced mechanical and responsive performances and may expand the future applications in smart hydrogel materials.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
纳米技术
·
智能材料
·
高分子化学
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DOI
高影响因子
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B
·
2011
·
IF 3.603
Jiucun Chen,Mingzhu Liu,Honghong Gong,Yinjuan Huang,Chen Chen
A well-defined thermoresponsive poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PEG43-b-PNIPAM82-b-PCL87) triblock copolymer was synthesized by combination of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), ring-opening polymerization (ROP), and click chemistry. The synthesis included the four steps, and all the structures of the polymers were determined. The thermoresponsive triblock copolymer can disperse in water at room temperature to form core–shell–corona micelles with the hydrophobic PCL block as core, the thermoresponsive PNIPAM block as shell, and the hydrophilic PEG block as corona. At temperatures above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the PNIPAM block, the PNIPAM chains gradually collapse on the PCL core to shrink the size and change the structure of the resultant core–shell–corona micelles with temperature increasing.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
高分子化学
✓ 已验证
DOI
高影响因子
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
·
2023
·
IF 15.1
Min Li,Ying Wang,Xin Zhou,Qi Zhang,Mingyang Chen,Dandan Han,Junbo Gong,Hongzhen Li
In this work, the micro/nano spherulitic hierarchical 2,2′,4,4′,6,6′-hexanitrostilbene (HNS) with the excellent specific surface area was prepared for the first time, which was expected to overcome the agglomeration problems of nanoscale HNS. In detail, poly( N -isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM), polysuccinimide (PSI), and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were selected as additives to induce forming spherulitic HNS. Leaflike crystals were obtained in the presence of PNIPAM, while spherulitic HNS could be fabricated in the presence of PSI or PVP. And the prepared spherulitic HNS owned nearly 6 times the specific surface area of the raw HNS, with decreased impact sensitivity and advanced melting and decomposition temperatures, demonstrating a good desensitization effect, and a favorable energy release of the hierarchical structure. Moreover, morphological changes under the effect of the molecular weight and concentration of PVP were explored. The approximated morphological evolution of spherulitic HNS was consistent with the classical spherulitic growth by noncrystallographic branching. Furthermore, it was verified that preferential adsorption of PVP and PSI on the HNS inhibits the growth steps of the (200) face and introduces stress to generate crystal defects, which triggers noncrystallographic branching and further spherulitic growth. Overall, the strategy of fabricating micro/nano spherulitic hierarchical energetic materials via polymer-additive induced noncrystallographic branching is promising to solve the problems of nanoscale energetic materials in agglomeration and microscale bulk crystals in low activity.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
高能材料
·
聚合物科学
·
纳米技术
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DOI
高影响因子
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）