Issue 45, 2021

Co-doping optimized hydrogel-elastomer micro-actuators for versatile biomimetic motions

Abstract

Hydrogels can respond to changes in humidity or temperature, while elastomers can resist structural collapse due to dehydration or external force application. A hybrid bilayer of hydrogel-elastomers while retaining the merits of both the hydrogels and elastomers has emerged as a promising stimuli-responsive micro-actuator. However, the preparation of a hydrogel-elastomer micro-actuator requires multiple steps, mainly due to the differences in the surface properties of these two materials. Among them, the steps to surface-treat the elastomer and functionalize the material of each layer involve intricate processes and excessive consumption of resources. In this work, we introduce a co-doping method to optimize the preparation of a stimuli-responsive hydrogel-elastomer micro-actuator. The surface treatment and functionalization processes are combined into one step by directly doping the polymerization initiator and functional nanomaterials into the hybrid bilayer. The thermo-responsive hydrogel is combined with a photothermal elastomer to fabricate a soft micro-actuator that can bend and unbend in response to changes in humidity and light. Based on this actuator, a set of biomimetic soft micro-robots were developed, demonstrating a series of motions, such as grabbing, crawling, and jumping. This strategy of stimuli-responsive micro-actuator preparation can benefit the hydrogel-elastomer hybrid micro-robot designs for applications ranging from self-locomotive robots in environmental monitoring to drug delivery in biomedical engineering.

Graphical abstract: Co-doping optimized hydrogel-elastomer micro-actuators for versatile biomimetic motions

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 Sept. 2021
Accepted
08 Okt. 2021
First published
08 Okt. 2021

Nanoscale, 2021,13, 18967-18976

Co-doping optimized hydrogel-elastomer micro-actuators for versatile biomimetic motions

Y. Pan, L. H. Lee, Z. Yang, S. U. Hassan and H. C. Shum, Nanoscale, 2021, 13, 18967 DOI: 10.1039/D1NR05757J

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