Flexible conductive sodium alginate/chitosan foam with good mechanical properties and magnetic sensitivity

Abstract

In this study, a novel flexible conductive sodium alginate/chitosan (SA/CS) foam with double-network structure based on dual-coated magnetic particles (MPs) was prepared by a biological crosslinking process of natural biopolymers. The structural characterization, response deformation and magnetic-field-dependent electric performance for different foams were investigated, and they were significantly dependent on the mass ratio of SA/CS, the contents of glycerol and MPs. By increasing SA and CS, the electrostatic interactions of double-network enhanced, leading to an increase in its binding force with the MPs, so the magnetic-responsive performance was strongly improved. Meanwhile, the resistance displayed a remarkable variation under the magnetic fields. For instance, the resistance of the sample with a mass ratio of 3:3 decreased with the magnetic flux densities (0.10-0.40 T) and it ranged from 14.8-6.83 kΩ, which reduced by about 53.9%. Moreover, the periodic measurements were applied so as to verify its recoverability and repeatability. Furthermore, a possible mechanism was provided to explain the magnetic-responsive behavior of the samples. Because of the superior magnetic controllability and preeminent mechanical performance, the conductive porous foam is promising in the fields of artificial electric skins, soft sensors and actuators.

Study on the actuation characteristics of a graphene oxide‐modified biological gel electroactive actuator

“…After GO and carbon nanotubes were added to the electrode film, the π‐π bond interaction between GO and carbon nanotubes could be exploited to build a highly‐stable three‐dimensional porous GO/carbon nanotube structure, 31,38 thereby enhancing the water retention performance. The water content can affect the flexibility and mechanical performance of the electrode layer, and a good water retention performance can contribute to the improvement of the actuation performance of the biogel polymer electric actuator 39 . And the improvement of the actuation performance can help to enhance the output force performance.…”

Polysaccharide-based nanocomposites for biomedical applications: a critical review

“…It can be utilized for the delivery of therapeutic drugs into a specific tissue or organ by directing carriers with the aid of a magnetic field. 91 Moreover, according to Liu et al , the addition of phenylboronic acid is one way to sensitize the scaffold to glucose. 92 Akbari et al reported that the combination of carboxymethyl cellulose and zinc oxide nanoparticles yields a pH-sensitive nanocomposite, which is the result of synergistic effects of cellulose responsiveness as well as zinc oxide sensitivity.…”

A bio‐gel electric actuator prepared from tannic acid and carboxymethyl cellulose by green cross‐linking process with good output performance

“…Li et al prepared double-network self-healing hydrogel based on ionic coordination by hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction of tannic acid and chitosan, and found that the internal double-network structure can improve the self-healing and grid structure of hydrogel. Fu et al [23,24] found that by improving the internal grid structure, the internal resistance of sodium alginatebased actuator can be increased, thereby improving the response characteristics of sodium alginate-based actuator. Currently, no research has been conducted on the application of tannic acid to improve the membrane structure of electric actuator for artificial muscle based on chitosan structure.…”