Issue 33, 2020

Polymer actuators based on covalent adaptable networks

Abstract

The combination of dynamic covalent chemistry (DCC) with polymeric materials has sparked numerous innovations over the past two decades. One outstanding branch is the application in polymer actuators. Substantial progress has been made in this area regarding novel stimuli-responsive functions, such as intriguing responsiveness, reprogrammable functions, recyclability, and self-healability, more efficient actuator fabrication, new advanced actuation systems, etc. Through reasonable system design and function matching, different DCC strategies have been continuously discovered and employed, creating a variety of polymer actuators with covalent adaptable networks (CANs), which have been smashing the stereotypes of the materials that have already been studied for several decades such as shape memory polymers (SMPs) and liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs). This review aims to overview the strategies for building polymer actuators based on CANs, how they function, and the advances induced by the introduction of CANs. An outline of CANs, DCC and the strategies on network design will be given at first. Further, we summarize the essential impacts inaugurated by CANs in different kinds of polymer actuators and shape the possible future directions in this sustainably growing field.

Graphical abstract: Polymer actuators based on covalent adaptable networks

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
15 jan 2020
Accepted
06 máj 2020
First published
14 máj 2020

Polym. Chem., 2020,11, 5297-5320

Polymer actuators based on covalent adaptable networks

Y. Wu, Y. Wei and Y. Ji, Polym. Chem., 2020, 11, 5297 DOI: 10.1039/D0PY00075B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements