Shape-changing polymers resemble animal movements due to temperature changes

A team of scientists has created a new shape-changing polymer that could change the way soft materials are built in the future. Made using a material called liquid crystal elastomer (LCE), a soft, rubber-like material that can be stimulated by external forces such as light or heat, this polymer is so versatile that it can move in different directions. is.

Its behavior resembles the movements of animals in nature, including twisting, tilting from side to side, and contracting and expanding, said study co-author Xiaoguan Wang, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at The Ohio State University. It is said that you can do something. University.

“Liquid crystals are materials with very unique properties and properties that are not typically achieved with other materials,” Wang said. “They are so fascinating to work with.”

The new polymer’s shape-changing ability could help create soft robots and artificial muscles, among other high-tech devices in medicine and other fields.

Currently, liquid crystals are most commonly used in television and mobile phone displays, but these materials often degrade over time. However, with the expansion of LEDs, many researchers are focusing on developing new applications for liquid crystals.

Unlike traditional materials that can only be bent in one direction or require multiple components to create complex shapes, the team’s polymer is a single component that can be twisted in two directions. Masu. This property is related to how the material is exposed to temperature changes to control the polymer’s molecular phase, Wang said.

“Liquid crystals have orientational order, which means they can self-align,” he says. “When you heat LCE, it transforms into different phases, causing changes in its structure and properties.”

This means that molecules, which are small building blocks of matter once fixed in place, can be directed to rearrange themselves in a more flexible way. This aspect could also make the material easier to manufacture, Wang said.

The study was recently published in the journal Science.

When scaled up, the polymers from this study have the potential to advance several scientific fields and technologies, including controlled drug delivery systems, biosensor devices, and assisting the next generation of soft robots with complex locomotion.

One of the study’s most important findings was the identification of three stages that materials pass through in response to changes in temperature, said study co-author Alan Weeble, a research fellow in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The Ohio State University. He said he made it. Throughout these steps, the molecules change and self-assemble into different configurations.

“These stages are one of the key elements that we optimized to enable bidirectional shape deformation of the material,” he said. In terms of size, the study further suggests that the material can be scaled up or down to accommodate almost any need.

“Our paper opens a new direction for people to start synthesizing other multiphase materials,” Wang said.

Researchers hope that future advances in computer technology will ultimately help address delicate situations, such as those that require precise design of artificial muscles and joints, or the upgrade of soft nanorobots needed for complex surgeries. It points out that it can be a useful tool for

“In the next few years, we will develop new applications and hopefully enter the biomedical field,” Weeble said. “There are many things we can investigate further based on these results.”

Other co-authors include Yuxing Yao, Shucong Li, Atalaya Milan Wilborn, Friedrich Stricker, Joanna Aizenberg, Baptiste Lemaire, Robert KA Bennett, Tung Chun Cheung and Alison Grinthal of Harvard University. Foteini Trigka and Michael M. Lerch from the University of Groningen. Guillaume Fréchet, Mikhail Zernenkov, and Patrick Wasik of Brookhaven National Laboratory; and Boris Kozinsky of Bosch Research.