A chemo-mechanical switch for controllable water transportation based on a thermally responsive block copolymer

Abstract

A smart and reversible chemo-mechanical switch was developed by synthesis of a thermally responsive block copolymer brush poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-hexafluoroisopropyl acrylate) (P(NIPAAm-co-HFIPA)) on a capillary plate. With the temperature changing around lower critical solution temperature (LCST), the designed chemo-mechanical switch exhibited excellent “ON–OFF” behavior for water transportation.