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Harnessing the Power of Stimuli‐Responsive Polymers for Actuation
Author(s) -
Hu Liang,
Wan Yu,
Zhang Qiang,
Serpe Michael J.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201903471
Subject(s) - materials science , nanotechnology , actuator , power (physics) , smart material , lift (data mining) , work (physics) , computer science , mechanical engineering , artificial intelligence , engineering , physics , quantum mechanics , data mining
A common behavior found in nature is the ability of plants and animals to naturally respond to their surroundings through actuation. Stimuli‐responsive polymers exhibit the same ability to naturally respond to changes in their environment, although manipulating them in a manner that allows their responses to be harnessed to do work via actuation is far from trivial. In this Review, examples that use temperature, pH, light, and electric field (and other) stimulation for actuation are highlighted. The actuation can result in materials that can be used to grip, lift, and move objects as well as for their own movement. As tremendous progress is being made in this research area, it is hard to imagine a future without these materials impacting lives in some way.