Autonomic composite hydrogels by reactive printing: materials and oscillatory response
R C Kramb1, P R Buskohl, C Slone
1AFRL/RX Materials & Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433, USA. richard.vaia@us.af.mil.
Soft Matter
|March 22, 2014
Summary
Researchers developed a new printing technique to create autonomic materials. This method enables reactive catalyst patterns on polymer films, leading to self-responsive chemical waves in Belousov-Zhabotinsky solutions.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Chemical Engineering
- Polymer Chemistry
Background:
- Autonomic materials respond to environmental changes but have limited system availability.
- Current implementations face challenges in material system development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel post-functionalization technique for creating autonomic materials.
- To broaden the range of available autonomic material systems.
Main Methods:
- A reactive Ruthenium (Ru) catalyst ink was printed onto non-responsive polymer substrates using succinimide-amine coupling.
- Patterns were created on polyacrylamide (PAAm) or poly-N-isopropyl acrylamide (PNIPAAm) copolymers with poly-N-(3-Aminopropyl)methacrylamide (PAPMAAm).
- Films were placed in Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) solution to observe autonomic responses within printed nodes.
Main Results:
- The reactive printing technique allows facile tuning of hydrogel compositions and forms robust composite monoliths.
- Autonomic responses in printed nodes were consistent across different matrices in BZ solutions.
- Oscillation periods decreased with increased sodium bromate or nitric acid concentrations.
- Temperature increases reduced oscillation periods, and gradients acted as pace-makers for chemical waves.
Conclusions:
- Reactive printing offers a versatile method for fabricating autonomic materials with tunable properties.
- This approach enhances the development of self-responsive hydrogel systems for diverse applications.
- The study demonstrates control over chemical wave propagation using temperature gradients.
