Programmed Locomotion of an Active Gel Driven by Spiral Waves

Lin, Rong; Wang, Liyuan; Gao, Qingyu; Teng, Rui; Xu, Ziyang; Wang, Jing; Pan, Chunyu; Epstein, Irving R.

doi:10.1002/anie.202000110

Cited by 8 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(51 reference statements)

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“…Due to these unique self-oscillating properties, many biomimetic behaviors can be obtained that resemble heartbeat, periodic hormone secretion, and biological rhythms. 10−12 Moreover, movement driven by chemical waves has the same essential mechanism as nerve-driven muscle movement, so these gels can generate various forms of motion, such as retrograde and direct-wave locomotion, 13 photophobic and phototropic movement, 14 angular motion driven by spiral waves, 15 and accelerated motion produced through sensing the shape of a water surface, 16 which has significant potential application in the design of autonomous robots, 17 small-scale motors, 18 and drug delivery tools. 19 Responsiveness and toughness are crucial to the adaptation and migration of stimuli-responsive gels when interacting with the surrounding environment.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) self-oscillating gel, a form of active soft matter first synthesized by Yoshida, − is special among these stimuli-responsive gels in its ability to autonomously, reversibly, and repeatedly convert chemical energy to mechanical energy without external stimuli. Due to these unique self-oscillating properties, many biomimetic behaviors can be obtained that resemble heartbeat, periodic hormone secretion, and biological rhythms. − Moreover, movement driven by chemical waves has the same essential mechanism as nerve-driven muscle movement, so these gels can generate various forms of motion, such as retrograde and direct-wave locomotion, photophobic and phototropic movement, angular motion driven by spiral waves, and accelerated motion produced through sensing the shape of a water surface, which has significant potential application in the design of autonomous robots, small-scale motors, and drug delivery tools …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nanogel Crosslinking-Based Belousov–Zhabotinsky Self-Oscillating Polyacrylamide Gel with Improved Mechanical Properties and Fast Oscillatory Response

Wang

Lin

et al. 2022

J. Phys. Chem. B

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The Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) self-oscillating gel is a unique actuator suited for studying the behavior of intelligent soft robots. However, the traditional BZ self-oscillating polyacrylamide (PAAm) gel is easily broken and is slow to response to stimuli, which limits its practical application. Therefore, the preparation of BZ gels with sensitive responses to external stimuli and desirable, robust mechanical properties remains a challenge. In this work, PAAm-activated nanogels with unpolymerized double bonds are used as nanocrosslinkers to synthesize a nanogel crosslinking-based BZ (NCBZ) self-oscillating PAAm gel, whose mechanical properties, for example, antipuncture, cutting, and tensile properties, are superior to those of traditional PAAm BZ-self-oscillating gels. The oscillatory period of the traditional gel is much longer than that of the corresponding homogeneous BZ system, resulting from the slow response of the gel to changes in redox potential, whereas large, interconnected pores inside the NCBZ gel provide efficient channels for rapid species transport, supporting fast response of the gel, which results in almost the same period of chemomechanical oscillations as the homogeneous system under the same conditions. Scanning electron microscopy results show that the NCBZ gel is more stable than the traditional BZ PAAm gel after 7 h of oscillation. Our results make it possible to prepare robust gel motors and provide promising application prospects for smart soft robots, actuators, sensors, tissue engineering, and other applications.

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Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanogel Crosslinking-Based Belousov–Zhabotinsky Self-Oscillating Polyacrylamide Gel with Improved Mechanical Properties and Fast Oscillatory Response

Wang

Lin

et al. 2022

J. Phys. Chem. B

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“…Among the potential applications of patterned surfaces are adhesives with controllable strength, self-cleaning surfaces based on delamination, , and directed waves that can transport cargo . One means of controlling pattern formation is by utilizing chemical reactivity, for example, via chemomechanical coupling in chemoresponsive gels. − Chemomechanical self-oscillations were recently reported in gels undergoing dynamic buckling . Mechanical stimuli such as controlled sequential release of prestrain, simple stretching and recovery of bilayers, , dynamical loading and unloading, longitudinal and/or transverse compression, − and uniaxial stretching provide effective means of controlling patterns in bilayer systems, elastic plates, and ridges.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanical Adaptability of Patterns in Constrained Hydrogel Membranes

Xiong

Kuksenok

2021

Langmuir

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Pattern formation and dynamic restructuring play a vital role in a plethora of natural processes. Understanding and controlling pattern formation in soft synthetic materials is important for imparting a range of biomimetic functionalities. Using a three-dimensional gel Lattice spring model, we focus on the dynamics of pattern formation and restructuring in thin thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) membranes under mechanical forcing via stretching and compression. A mechanical instability due to the constrained swelling of a polymer network in response to the temperature quench results in out-of-plane buckling of these membranes. The depth of the temperature quench and applied mechanical forcing affect the onset of buckling and postbuckling dynamics. We characterize formation and restructuring of buckling patterns under the stretching and compression by calculating the wavelength and the amplitude of these patterns. We demonstrate dynamic restructuring of the patterns under mechanical forcing and characterize the hysteresis behavior. Our findings show that in the range of the strain rates probed, the wavelength prescribed during the compression remains constant and independent of the sample widths, while the amplitude is regulated dynamically. We demonstrate that significantly smaller wavelengths can be prescribed and sustained dynamically than those achieved in equilibrium in the same systems. We show that an effective membrane thickness may decrease upon compression due to the out-of-plane deformations and pattern restructuring. Our findings point out that mechanical forcing can be harnessed to control the onset of buckling, postbuckling dynamics, and hysteresis phenomena in gel-based systems, introducing novel means of tailoring the functionality of soft structured surfaces and interfaces.

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“…Replicating the rotational/helical locomotion of various organisms in synthetic active materials has been a goal of much research in recent years. − These works suggest a prerequisite for rotational locomotion; that is, self-propelling − and externally propelled active materials should possess an asymmetry in either their internal molecular crystal structure , or their external shape. , Active self-oscillating Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) gels can reversibly and repeatedly convert chemical energy into mechanical energy autonomously, without external input or interaction. − Upon adjusting and controlling their direction and the degree of expansion, their locomotion performance can be precisely controlled. Through the observation of the loci of photophobic and phototropic movement, a 1D gel driven by chemical waves was found to produce the same forward and backward motion pattern as that of a Euglena cell in a confined one-dimensional glass tube.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Asymmetric wave signals resulting in a net driving force can serve as the chemomechanical origin for programmed motion of soft robots . Active matter driven by BZ pulse waves displays diverse locomotion modes, which can be used in the design of various biomimetic locomotion modes in one-dimensional space. − When chemical waves propagate in two- or three-dimensional space, the direction of the driving force (i.e., chemical waves) may deviate from the normal to the wavefront, leading to more interesting locomotion behavior.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Rotational Locomotion of an Active Gel Driven by Internal Chemical Signals

Wang

Lin

Teng

et al. 2021

J. Phys. Chem. Lett.

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Chemical waves arising from coupled reaction and transport can serve as biomimetic "nerve signals" to study the underlying origin and regulation of active locomotion. During wave propagation in more than one spatial dimension, the propagation direction of spiral and pulse waves in a nanogel-based PAAm self-oscillating gel, i.e., the orientation of the driving force, may deviate from the normal direction to the wave fronts. Alternating forward and backward retrograde wave locomotion along the normal and tangential kinematic vectors with a phase difference leads to a curved path, i.e., rotational locomotion. This work indicates that appendages in an organism are not required for this type of locomotion. This locomotion mechanism reveals a general principle underlying the dynamical origin of biological helical locomotion and also suggests design approaches for complex locomotion of soft robots and smart materials.

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Programmed Locomotion of an Active Gel Driven by Spiral Waves

Cited by 8 publications

References 30 publications

Nanogel Crosslinking-Based Belousov–Zhabotinsky Self-Oscillating Polyacrylamide Gel with Improved Mechanical Properties and Fast Oscillatory Response

Nanogel Crosslinking-Based Belousov–Zhabotinsky Self-Oscillating Polyacrylamide Gel with Improved Mechanical Properties and Fast Oscillatory Response

Mechanical Adaptability of Patterns in Constrained Hydrogel Membranes

Rotational Locomotion of an Active Gel Driven by Internal Chemical Signals

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