Mechanically Programmable Dip Molding of High Aspect Ratio Soft Actuator Arrays

Becker, Kaitlyn P.; Chen, Yufeng; Wood, Robert J.

doi:10.1002/adfm.201908919

Cited by 33 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Similarly, the use of GE as a nanofiller was shown by Ren et al [ 17 ], Liao et al [ 18 ], Zhang et al [ 19 ], and Wei et al [ 20 ], and improved properties were reported that are amenable to the development of next-generation polymer composite materials. The small particle size [ 21 ], high aspect ratio [ 22 ], and optimum surface area [ 23 ] of these nanofillers allow for the achievement of good mechanical and electrical properties at low filler content, as demonstrated by Khanna et al [ 24 ], Wang et al [ 25 ], Wu et al [ 26 ], and Wei et al [ 27 ]. These authors reported CNTs as a single or hybrid filler in various matrices, and improved properties were reported.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silicone Rubber Composites Reinforced by Carbon Nanofillers and Their Hybrids for Various Applications: A Review

et al. 2021

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Without fillers, rubber types such as silicone rubber exhibit poor mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. Carbon black (CB) is traditionally used as a filler in the rubber matrix to improve its properties, but a high content (nearly 60 per hundred parts of rubber (phr)) is required. However, this high content of CB often alters the viscoelastic properties of the rubber composite. Thus, nowadays, nanofillers such as graphene (GE) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are used, which provide significant improvements to the properties of composites at as low as 2–3 phr. Nanofillers are classified as those fillers consisting of at least one dimension below 100 nanometers (nm). In the present review paper, nanofillers based on carbon nanomaterials such as GE, CNT, and CB are explored in terms of how they improve the properties of rubber composites. These nanofillers can significantly improve the properties of silicone rubber (SR) nanocomposites and have been useful for a wide range of applications, such as strain sensing. Therefore, carbon-nanofiller-reinforced SRs are reviewed here, along with advancements in this research area. The microstructures, defect densities, and crystal structures of different carbon nanofillers for SR nanocomposites are characterized, and their processing and dispersion are described. The dispersion of the rubber composites was reported through atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effect of these nanofillers on the mechanical (compressive modulus, tensile strength, fracture strain, Young’s modulus, glass transition), thermal (thermal conductivity), and electrical properties (electrical conductivity) of SR nanocomposites is also discussed. Finally, the application of the improved SR nanocomposites as strain sensors according to their filler structure and concentration is discussed. This detailed review clearly shows the dependency of SR nanocomposite properties on the characteristics of the carbon nanofillers.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silicone Rubber Composites Reinforced by Carbon Nanofillers and Their Hybrids for Various Applications: A Review

et al. 2021

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“…In the fourth step, the downside channels were sealed. The step-by-step fabrication processes along flow charts can be found in the study [ 73 ].…”

Section: Fabrication Techniques For Artificial Ciliamentioning

confidence: 99%

Microfluidic Applications of Artificial Cilia: Recent Progress, Demonstration, and Future Perspectives

2022

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Artificial cilia-based microfluidics is a promising alternative in lab-on-a-chip applications which provides an efficient way to manipulate fluid flow in a microfluidic environment with high precision. Additionally, it can induce favorable local flows toward practical biomedical applications. The endowment of artificial cilia with their anatomy and capabilities such as mixing, pumping, transporting, and sensing lead to advance next-generation applications including precision medicine, digital nanofluidics, and lab-on-chip systems. This review summarizes the importance and significance of the artificial cilia, delineates the recent progress in artificial cilia-based microfluidics toward microfluidic application, and provides future perspectives. The presented knowledge and insights are envisaged to pave the way for innovative advances for the research communities in miniaturization.

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“…Electric stimulation is another approach to remotely and precisely control artificial cilia. [ 75 ] For example, artificial cilia composed of dielectric elastomer has been presented, which could deform when exposed to an alternating‐current (AC) electric field. [ 76 ] The matrix material of such cilia was PDMS and electrosensitive barium titanate (BaTiO 3 ) nanoparticles were embedded inside.…”

Section: Actuating Strategies For Artificial Ciliamentioning

confidence: 99%

Tailoring Flexible Arrays for Artificial Cilia Actuators

Zhang

Guo

et al. 2021

Advanced Intelligent Systems

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Soft actuators refer to active devices made of flexible or compliant materials which can respond to and be motivated by external triggers such as magnetic fields, electric fields, acoustic waves, light fields, chemical reagents, and so on. [1][2][3] Recent years have witnessed the rapid development of soft actuators. Thanks to the great endeavors ever paid to this field, a large variety of smart soft actuators with multiple actuation mechanisms and diverse structures, including film-shaped, tube-shaped, cilia-shaped, etc., have been designed and fabricated, [4][5][6][7] playing an increasingly important role in electronics, [8] robotics engineering, [9] artificial intelligence, [10] fluid manipulation, [11] biomedicine, [12] and life science. [13] Among these intriguing soft actuators, the artificial cilia actuator, which is composed of a cilia-like array, is a representative example. Such artificial cilia can be fabricated through numerous strategies, from top-down approaches such as FES and template replication [14][15][16][17] to bottom-up ones such as self-assembly. [18][19][20] These fabricated artificial cilia not only exhibit high flexibility, sensitivity, tailorability, and controllability but also can be simultaneously imparted with various functions after specific modification.To better tailor the artificial cilia and to further improve their performances in complicated and changeable environments, researchers seek inspirations from nature. Cilia are ubiquitous in nature and can be found in a wide range of species including microbiome, plant stems, fish skins, legs of insects, and airways of mammals. [21][22][23] These natural cilia have been reported to exhibit the functions of guiding movements, sensing ambient environments, clearing foreign matters, etc. By mimicking and recapitulating the natural cilia, scientists have developed swimming cilia robots, multilegged cilia carpets, micropillar sensors, slippery cilia surfaces, and other artificial cilia actuators. [24][25][26] In addition, to achieve the intelligent manipulation and remote control, different single-factor or multi-factor actuation methods of the artificial cilia have also been investigated. [27][28][29] To date, these artificial cilia have found applications in a wide spectrum of fields, including microfluidics, droplet manipulation, flexible electronics, and soft robots. [30][31][32] In this review, we present the recent progress on the tailoring and applications of the artificial cilia actuators. Different from existing reviews in this field which only involve artificial cilia in some sections, this review provides a profound, comprehensive, and exclusive summary of artificial cilia actuators for the first time. We first introduce some typical examples of natural cilia, their properties and functions, as well as the bionic cilia derived from them. We then summarize the actuation mechanisms of the artificial cilia, and emphasize the magnetically actuated artificial cilia and multi-responsive artificial cilia in particular. In the follo...

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Mechanically Programmable Dip Molding of High Aspect Ratio Soft Actuator Arrays

Cited by 33 publications

References 26 publications

Silicone Rubber Composites Reinforced by Carbon Nanofillers and Their Hybrids for Various Applications: A Review

Silicone Rubber Composites Reinforced by Carbon Nanofillers and Their Hybrids for Various Applications: A Review

Microfluidic Applications of Artificial Cilia: Recent Progress, Demonstration, and Future Perspectives

Tailoring Flexible Arrays for Artificial Cilia Actuators

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