Issue 47, 2023

Designing strong, fast, high-performance hydrogel actuators

Abstract

Hydrogel actuators displaying programmable shape transformations are particularly attractive for integration into future soft robotics with safe human–machine interactions. However, these materials are still in their infancy, and many significant challenges remain presenting impediments to their practical implementation, including poor mechanical properties, slow actuation speed and limited actuation performance. In this review, we discuss the recent advances in hydrogel designs to address these critical limitations. First, the material design concepts to improve mechanical properties of hydrogel actuators will be introduced. Examples are also included to highlight strategies to realize fast actuation speed. In addition, recent progress about creating strong and fast hydrogel actuators are sumarized. Finally, a discussion of different methods to realize high values in several aspects of actuation performance metrics for this class of materials is provided. The advances and challenges discussed in this highlight could provide useful guidelines for rational design to manipulate the properties of hydrogel actuators toward widespread real-world applications.

Graphical abstract: Designing strong, fast, high-performance hydrogel actuators

Article information

Article type
Highlight
Submitted
30 3 2023
Accepted
09 5 2023
First published
10 5 2023

Chem. Commun., 2023,59, 7141-7150

Designing strong, fast, high-performance hydrogel actuators

B. Bin Asghar Abbasi, M. Gigliotti, S. Aloko, M. A. Jolfaei, G. M. Spinks and Z. Jiang, Chem. Commun., 2023, 59, 7141 DOI: 10.1039/D3CC01545A

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