Construction of Mineralization Nanostructures in Polymers for Mechanical Enhancement and Functionalization

Abstract

Mineralization capable of growing inorganic nanostructures efficiently, orderly, and spontaneously shows great potential for application in the construction of high‐performance organic–inorganic composites. As a thermodynamically spontaneous solid‐phase crystallization reaction involving dual organic and inorganic components, mineralization allows for the self‐assembly of sophisticated and exclusive nanostructures within a polymer matrix. It results in a diversity of functions such as enhanced strength, toughness, electrical conductivity, selective permeability, and biocompatibility. While there are previous reviews discussing the progress of mineralization reactions, many of them overlook the significant benefits of interfacial regulation and functionalization that come from the incorporation of mineralized structures into polymers. Focusing on different means of assembly of mineralized nanostructures in polymer, the work analyzes their design principles and implementation strategies. Then, their different advantages and disadvantages are analyzed by combining nanostructures with organic substrates as well as involving the basis of different functionalizations. It is anticipated to provide insights and guidance for the future development of mineralized polymer composites and their application designs.

Biobased Inks Based on Cuttlefish Ink and Cellulose Nanofibers for Biodegradable Patterned Soft Actuators

“…Soft actuators that can convert diversified external energy including light, humidity, heat, and electric/magnetic fields to complex mechanical deformation have attracted growing attention in many fields. − More recently, a variety of soft actuators made of various materials have been developed by constructing various anisotropic structures such as bilayer/multilayer structure, gradient structure, oriented structure, and patterned structure. − Among them, soft patterned actuators that can achieve bending, curling, folding, coiling, or sophisticated 2D-to-3D shape changes have broad application prospects . A general design strategy for patterned actuators is to selectively construct an active layer in specific regions of the inert layer.…”