A Class of Rigid–Flexible Coupling Crystalline Crosslinked Polymers as Vapomechanical Actuators

Lin, En; Wang, Zhifang; Zhao, Xiaoliang; Liu, Zhaoyi; Yan, Dong; Jin, Fazheng; Chen, Yao; Cheng, Peng; Zhang, Zhenjie

doi:10.1002/anie.202117390

Cited by 15 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…This responsive behaviour was ascribed to the existing C−O single bonds in the skeleton [39] . As to organic cages, they were incorporated in polymeric membranes for various selective separation applications however their mechanical performance in actuating polymeric films was not investigated thus far [36, 40–48] …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[39] As to organic cages, they were incorporated in polymeric membranes for various selective separation applications however their mechanical performance in actuating polymeric films was not investigated thus far. [36,[40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48] In this work, we report the preparation and application of a mechanically responsive soft composite film based on porous organic cages (Oba-cage) as the "smart" stimuli responsive fillers in a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) matrix. This actuating composite film is triggered by vapor and has a shape memory to revert back to its original shape upon the removal of the trigger (Scheme 1).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Vapor‐Triggered Mechanical Actuation in Polymer Composite Films Based on Crystalline Organic Cages

et al. 2022

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The fabrication of smart materials, which can efficiently mimic biological systems through the introduction of soft components, is of great importance in the emerging fields of sensors and actuators. Herein, a smart composite film that can mechanically respond to vapors trigger then readily restores its original shape upon the removal of the stimuli is reported. This actuating composite film was prepared by mixing the highly elastic poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) polymer with the flexible and crystalline organic cages (Oba‐cage) at variable concentrations. The mechanism of the mechanical response could be accurately recorded due to the ordered cage crystals. This work highlights the importance of designing smart materials at the molecular level to precisely control the response or reaction upon the introduction of different triggers, which can ultimately lead to a monumental leap in the field of soft robotics.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Vapor‐Triggered Mechanical Actuation in Polymer Composite Films Based on Crystalline Organic Cages

et al. 2022

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“…(g) Images of a flower made from CCP membranes showing an open–close–open transformation upon alternate exposure to ethanol vapor or air. Reproduced with permission from ref . Copyright 2022 Wiley-VCH.…”

Section: Fabricating Smart Materials Systems For Practical Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Very recently, we reported a class of rigid–flexible coupling crystalline cross-linked polymers (CCPs) by condensation reactions of flexible macromers (the same as polyCOFs) with rigid monomers of C 2 symmetry (Figure a). Interfacial polymerization under ambient conditions yielded freestanding CCP membranes that exhibited high crystallinity, porosity, and good mechanical properties . Notably, the CCP membrane demonstrated interesting vapor-triggered actuation performance with reversible bending upon exposure to various organic vapors (Figure d).…”

Section: Fabricating Smart Materials Systems For Practical Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stimuli-Responsive Crystalline Smart Materials: From Rational Design and Fabrication to Applications

2022

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Conspectus Stimuli-responsive smart materials that can undergo reversible chemical/physical changes under external stimuli such as mechanical stress, heat, light, gas, electricity, and pH, are currently attracting increasing attention in the fields of sensors, actuators, optoelectronic devices, information storage, medical applications, and so forth. The current smart materials mostly concentrate on polymers, carbon materials, crystalline liquids, and hydrogels, which have no or low structural order (i.e., the responsive groups/moieties are disorderly in the structures), inevitably introducing deficiencies such as a relatively low response speeds, energy transformation inefficiencies, and unclear structure–property relationships. Consequently, crystalline materials with well-defined and regular molecular arrays can offer a new opportunity to create novel smart materials with improved stimuli-responsive performance. Crystalline materials include framework materials (e.g., metal–organic frameworks, MOFs; covalent organic frameworks, COFs) and molecular crystals (e.g., organic molecules and molecular cages), which have obvious advantages as smart materials compared to amorphous materials. For example, responsive groups/moieties can be uniformly installed in the skeleton of the crystal materials to form ordered molecular arrays, making energy transfer between external-stimulus signals and responsive sites much faster and more efficiently. Besides that, the well-defined structures facilitate in situ characterization of their structural transformation at the molecular level by means of various techniques and high-tech equipment such as in situ spectra and single-crystal/powder X-ray diffraction, thus benefiting the investigation and understanding of the mechanism behind the stimuli-responsive behaviors and structure–property relationships. Nevertheless, some unsolved challenges remain for crystalline smart materials (CSMs), hampering the fabrication of smart material systems for practical applications. For instance, as the materials’ crystallinity increases, their processability and mechanical properties usually decrease, unavoidably hindering their practical application. Moreover, crystalline smart materials mostly exist as micro/nanosized powders, which are difficult to make stimuli-responsive on the macroscale. Thus, developing strategies that can balance the materials’ crystallinity and processability and establishing macroscale smart material systems are of great significance for practical applications. In this Account, we mainly summarize the recent research progress achieved by our groups, including (i) the rational design and fabrication of new stimuli-responsive crystalline smart materials, including molecular crystals and framework materials, and an in-depth investigation of their response mechanism and structure–property relationship and (ii) creating chemical/physical modification strategies to improve the processability and mechanical properties for crystalline materials and establishing macroscale smart s...

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“…Smart actuators that can reversibly change their shape/ volume in response to external stimuli such as light, heat, electricity, chemicals, and humidity have been studied extensively due to their bright prospects in diverse fields, including biomedicine, robotics, and energy harvesting. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Among these applications, harvesting green energy directly from environmental stimuli [4,[12][13][14][15][16] has gained tremendous attention because it can address the increasing environmental and energy crises. As one of the most widespread and eco-friendly stimuli, humidity is a particularly desired stimulus for smart actuators because it can offer numerous advantages [17][18][19] (e.g., high strain/stress, energy density, and efficiency) compared with conventional actuators driven by other stimuli.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engineering Covalent Organic Frameworks with Polyethylene Glycol as Self‐Sustained Humidity‐Responsive Actuators

et al. 2022

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Regarding the global energy crisis, it is of profound significance to develop spontaneous power generators that harvest natural energy. Fabricating humidity‐responsive actuators that can conduct such energy transduction is of paramount importance. Herein, we incorporate covalent organic frameworks with flexible polyethylene glycol to fabricate rigid‐flexible coupled membrane actuators. This strategy significantly improves the mechanical properties and humidity‐responsive performance of the actuators, meanwhile, the existence of ordered structures enables us to unveil the actuation mechanism. These high‐performance actuators can achieve various actuation applications and exhibit interesting self‐oscillation behavior above a water surface. Finally, after being coupled with a piezoelectric film, the bilayer device can spontaneously output electricity over 2 days. This work paves a new avenue to fabricate rigid‐flexible coupled actuators for self‐sustained energy transduction.

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A Class of Rigid–Flexible Coupling Crystalline Crosslinked Polymers as Vapomechanical Actuators

Cited by 15 publications

References 57 publications

Vapor‐Triggered Mechanical Actuation in Polymer Composite Films Based on Crystalline Organic Cages

Vapor‐Triggered Mechanical Actuation in Polymer Composite Films Based on Crystalline Organic Cages

Stimuli-Responsive Crystalline Smart Materials: From Rational Design and Fabrication to Applications

Engineering Covalent Organic Frameworks with Polyethylene Glycol as Self‐Sustained Humidity‐Responsive Actuators

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