Near-infrared responsive gecko-inspired flexible arm gripper

Article Chemistry, Multidisciplinary

Bioinspired Hierarchical Structures for Contact-Sensible Adhesives

Hong Hu et al.

Summary: The novel contact-sensible adhesive (CSA) structure integrates adhesion and sensing functions, making it sensitive to external pressure, tension, and shear loads, while also showing enhanced adhesion on uneven surfaces.

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS (2022)

添加到收藏夹

Article Multidisciplinary Sciences

Biomimetic fracture model of lizard tail autotomy

Navajit S. Baban et al.

Summary: In this study, a biomimetic fracture model of lizard tail autotomy was proposed and investigated, using multiscale hierarchical structures to enhance adhesion performance. The experimental results showed that micro- and nanostructures were critical factors, and capillarity-assisted energy dissipation further increased adhesion performance under wet conditions.

SCIENCE (2022)

添加到收藏夹

Article Chemistry, Multidisciplinary

Bioinspired Phototropic MXene-Reinforced Soft Tubular Actuators for Omnidirectional Light-Tracking and Adaptive Photovoltaics

Mengyuan Yang et al.

Summary: This article reports on a bioinspired phototropic MXene-reinforced soft tubular actuator that has omnidirectional self-orienting ability and can interact with incident light in all zenithal and azimuthal angles. The innovation of this actuator lies in its optimized materials and structure, which enable fast photoresponse and high light-tracking accuracy. A proof-of-concept demonstration of its application potential in solar energy harvesting is provided.

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS (2022)

添加到收藏夹

Article Engineering, Environmental

Gecko inspired reversible adhesion via quantum dots enabled photo-detachment

Yuanyuan Mi et al.

Summary: A reversible dry adhesive surface has been developed, which reduces adhesion by inducing thermal expansion of the polydimethylsiloxane micropillar arrays. This work demonstrates a new strategy for realizing remote control of smart adhesives or surfaces, with potential applications in various fields.

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL (2022)

添加到收藏夹

Article Engineering, Environmental

Piezoelectric-Fenton degradation and mechanism study of Fe2O3/PVDF-HFP porous film drove by flowing water

Mengnan Chai et al.

Summary: In this study, a flexible porous film based on PVDF-HFP was prepared and its piezoelectric catalysis performance was enhanced using α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles. The α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles not only improved the piezoelectric properties of the film but also provided Fe3+ to participate in the Fenton reaction with H2O2 generated by the film itself. Meanwhile, the Fenton reaction was accelerated by the piezoelectric field, leading to an improved degradation efficiency.

JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS (2022)

添加到收藏夹

Article Chemistry, Multidisciplinary

Bioinspired light-fueled water-walking soft robots based on liquid crystal network actuators with polymerizable miniaturized gold nanorods

Xiao Yang et al.

Summary: This research demonstrates water strider-inspired water-walking soft robots that can be remotely controlled by light, incorporating superhydrophobic floating surface with hierarchical nanostructures. The soft actuators exhibit photoinduced shape-bending deformation upon cyclic exposure to near-infrared light, enabling the soft robot to walk unidirectionally on water surface.

NANO TODAY (2022)

添加到收藏夹

Article Engineering, Mechanical

Robust scalable reversible strong adhesion by gecko-inspired composite design

Xiaosong Li et al.

Summary: The new design enhances uniform loading for attachment by restricting lateral shrinkage in the natural state, while facilitating flexible peeling for detachment by causing stress concentration in the bending state. It has easily scalable performance for a large area ranging from 1.5 to 150 cm(2) and a high load ranging from 20 to 700 N.

FRICTION (2022)

添加到收藏夹

Article Biology

Size, shape and orientation of macro-sized substrate protrusions affect the toe and foot adhesion of geckos

Yi Song et al.

Summary: Geckos have strong attachment forces on macro-scale rough substrates, with their toes showing different adhesive characteristics when pulled along different geometric protrusions. These findings provide insights into the importance of dimension, shape, and orientation of macro-scale substrate features for geckos' compliant toe and foot function in natural environments, and may inspire the development of novel robot feet.

JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY (2021)

添加到收藏夹

Article Nanoscience & Nanotechnology

Robust Near-Infrared-Responsive Composite Hydrogel Actuator Using Fe3+/Tannic Acid as the Photothermal Transducer

Xin Zhang et al.

Summary: The study introduces a novel NIR-responsive hydrogel actuator incorporating Fe3+/TA, demonstrating enhanced mechanical properties and photothermal effect. Under NIR irradiation, Fe3+/TA within the hydrogel converts light energy into heat, causing the hydrogel to bend upward in the heated region with excellent repeatability.

ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES (2021)

添加到收藏夹

Article Chemistry, Physical

Gecko's Feet-Inspired Self-Peeling Switchable Dry/Wet Adhesive

Yunlei Zhang et al.

Summary: The study developed a novel multilayered self-peeling switchable dry/wet adhesive with thermal-responsive curving behavior and switchable adhesion properties, and explained the dynamic curvature-induced switchable peeling mechanism theoretically. By integrating nanoparticles, remote control over switchable adhesion can be achieved. This research provides a new route for developing intelligent adhesion systems and mobile devices/robots.

CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS (2021)

添加到收藏夹

Article Multidisciplinary Sciences

Direct evidence of acid-base interactions in gecko adhesion

Saranshu Singla et al.

Summary: This study identified the involvement of acid-base interactions between polar lipid head-groups on gecko setal surfaces and sapphire, and demonstrated the role of cohesive failure within the lipid layer in reducing setal wear during high stress sliding. Absence of the lipid layer was found to enhance adhesion, despite a small setal-substrate contact area. These results challenge the traditional view that gecko adhesion is solely based on vdW forces and is residue-free.

SCIENCE ADVANCES (2021)

添加到收藏夹

Article Engineering, Environmental

Asymmetric bilayer CNTs-elastomer/hydrogel composite as soft actuators with sensing performance

Huijing Li et al.

Summary: Living creatures have the ability to actuate and sense under external stimuli for better adaptation to the environment; integrating sensing and actuation in soft robots can enhance control efficiency; challenges remain in simultaneously achieving actuation and sensing in biomimetic materials.

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL (2021)

添加到收藏夹

Article Chemistry, Multidisciplinary

Photo-Detachable Self-Cleaning Surfaces Inspired by Gecko Toepads

Xiaohang Luo et al.

Summary: Research combining TDPDA and PDMS micropillars has achieved high adhesion and self-cleaning performance, with effective self-cleaning mechanism controlled by light signals. By absorbing 808 nm wavelength light for heating and completing the self-cleaning process in a short time, this study may open new applications for biomimetic smart surfaces.

LANGMUIR (2021)

添加到收藏夹

Article Materials Science, Multidisciplinary

Highly stretchable self-sensing actuator based on conductive photothermally-responsive hydrogel

Chiao-Yueh Lo et al.

Summary: This study presents a soft robotic strategy that couples actuation and strain sensing into a single homogeneous material, which exhibits photo/thermal-responsiveness and piezoresistive-responsiveness, enabling remotely-triggered actuation and local strain-sensing. The material demonstrated ultra-high stretchability and large volume shrinkage, with a drastic change in conductivity upon locomotion. The multifunctional sensory actuatable materials may lead to the next generation of soft robots with higher levels of autonomy and complexity.

MATERIALS TODAY (2021)

添加到收藏夹

Article Materials Science, Multidisciplinary