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Mechanically strong Janus poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/graphene oxide hydrogels as thermo-responsive soft robots

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Abstract

Simple preparation of stimuli-responsive hydrogels with good mechanical properties and mild stimuliresponsiveness is essential for their applications as smart soft robots. Mechanically strong Janus poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/graphene oxide (PNIPAM/GO) nanocomposite hydrogels with stimuli-responsive bending behaviors are prepared through a simple one-step method by using molds made of a Teflon plate and a glass plate. Residual oxygen in the air bubbles on the Teflon plate surface affects the polymerization and hence the cross-linking density, leading to the different swelling/deswelling rates of the two sides of the gels. Therefore, the hydrogels exhibit bending/unbending behaviors upon heating/cooling in water. The incorporation of GO nanosheets dramatically enhances the mechanical properties of Janus hydrogels. Meanwhile, the photo-responsive property of the GO nanosheets also imparts the hydrogels with remotecontrollable deformation under IR irradiation. The application of the Janus PNIPAM/GO hydrogels as thermo-responsive grippers is demonstrated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Materials, College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Xin Peng, Tian-qi Liu, Cong Shang, Chen Jiao & Hui-liang Wang  (汪辉亮)

Authors
  1. Xin Peng
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  2. Tian-qi Liu
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  3. Cong Shang
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  4. Chen Jiao
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  5. Hui-liang Wang  (汪辉亮)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hui-liang Wang  (汪辉亮).

Additional information

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21274013).

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Peng, X., Liu, Tq., Shang, C. et al. Mechanically strong Janus poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/graphene oxide hydrogels as thermo-responsive soft robots. Chin J Polym Sci 35, 1268–1275 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-017-1970-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-017-1970-1

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