Electrospun rubber fibre mats with electrochemically controllable pore sizes

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Electrochemistry

Background:

• Porous elastomeric scaffolds with tunable properties are crucial for advanced applications.
• Existing materials often lack dynamic mechanical responses to external stimuli.
• Developing materials for stretchable electronics, soft robotics, and cell stimulation requires novel scaffold designs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create electroactive, elastomeric microfiber mats with controllable pore size variation.
• To investigate the potential of these mats in applications like stretchable electronics and soft robotics.
• To demonstrate the dynamic mechanical response of the material under electrochemical stimulation.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (s-IPNs) via electrospinning.
• In situ cross-linking of nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) and poly(ethylene glycol)dimethylacrylate.
• Embedding poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) through oxidative chemical polymerization.
• Electrochemical stimulation using reduction-oxidation cycles in an electrolyte.

Main Results:

• Produced robust, highly flexible, and conductive s-IPN microfiber mats.
• Achieved a controllable pore size variation of up to 25% upon electrochemical stimulation.
• Demonstrated pore size modulation in both organic electrolyte (1 M LiTFSI in PC) and phosphate-buffered saline.

Conclusions:

• The developed s-IPN microfiber mats offer a unique combination of electroactivity, elasticity, and dynamic pore size control.
• These materials show significant promise for applications in stretchable electronics, (bio)filtration, soft robotics, and cell stimulation.
• The ability to tune pore size electrochemically provides a novel mechanism for responsive material design.