The
hydrogel artificial muscle has demonstrated enormous potential
in various applications, such as soft robotics and actuators. However,
the poor mechanical properties have always limited the practical applications
of hydrogels. Here, we designed a Zr4+ coordinated and
vinyl hybrid silica nanoparticle (VSNP) grafted poly(acrylamide-co-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) (VSNP@poly(AM-co-AMPS)-Zr4+) via frontal polymerization (FP).
Benefiting from the synergistic effect of the polymer–nanocomposite
interaction (VSNP nanocomposite) and metal ion–ligand interactions
(Zr4+–sulfonate group coordination), the mechanical
properties of hydrogels can be extremely improved. In addition, a
deformable hydrogel with gradient structure and swelling ratio was
designed through introducing Zr4+ to one side of the hydrogel,
which can serve as an artificial muscle to accomplish multiple moving
activities, such as bending and grabbing. This work offers an easy-to-perform
strategy to construct mechanically strong hydrogels, which might promote
the development of artificial muscle materials.
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