Journal Home > Volume 14 , Issue 1

Synthetic materials with tunable mechanical properties have great potential in soft robotics and biomedical engineering. However, current materials are limited to the mechanical duality altering their mechanical properties only between soft and hard states and lack of consecutively programmable mechanics. Herein, the magnetic-programmable organohydrogels with heterogeneous dynamic architecture are designed by encasing oleophilic ferrofluid droplets into hydrogel matrix. As magnetic field increases, the mechanical properties of organohydrogels can be consecutively modulated owing to the gradual formation of chain-like assembly structures of nanoparticles. The storage modulus G′ increases by 2.5 times when magnetic field goes up to 0.35 T. Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) confirms the reconfigurable orientation of nanoparticles and the organohydrogels show reversible modulus switching. Besides, the materials also exhibit high stretchability, magnetic actuation behavior and effective self-healing capability. Furthermore, the organohydrogels are applied into the design of effectors with mechanical adaptivity. When subjected to serious external perturbations, the effector can maintain mechanical homeostasis by regulating modulus of organohydrogel under applied magnetic field. Such materials are applicable to homeostatic systems with mechanically adaptive behaviors and programmed responses to external force stimuli.


menu
Abstract
Full text
Outline
Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Magnetic-programmable organohydrogels with reconfigurable network for mechanical homeostasis

Show Author's information Yingchao Yang1Qian Liu1Tianyi Zhao1( )Yunfei Ru1Ruochen Fang1,2Yichao Xu1,2Jin Huang1Mingjie Liu1,2,3,4( )
Key Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
Research Institute of Frontier Science, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
International Research Institute for Multidisciplinary Science, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China

Abstract

Synthetic materials with tunable mechanical properties have great potential in soft robotics and biomedical engineering. However, current materials are limited to the mechanical duality altering their mechanical properties only between soft and hard states and lack of consecutively programmable mechanics. Herein, the magnetic-programmable organohydrogels with heterogeneous dynamic architecture are designed by encasing oleophilic ferrofluid droplets into hydrogel matrix. As magnetic field increases, the mechanical properties of organohydrogels can be consecutively modulated owing to the gradual formation of chain-like assembly structures of nanoparticles. The storage modulus G′ increases by 2.5 times when magnetic field goes up to 0.35 T. Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) confirms the reconfigurable orientation of nanoparticles and the organohydrogels show reversible modulus switching. Besides, the materials also exhibit high stretchability, magnetic actuation behavior and effective self-healing capability. Furthermore, the organohydrogels are applied into the design of effectors with mechanical adaptivity. When subjected to serious external perturbations, the effector can maintain mechanical homeostasis by regulating modulus of organohydrogel under applied magnetic field. Such materials are applicable to homeostatic systems with mechanically adaptive behaviors and programmed responses to external force stimuli.

Keywords: magnetic-programmable mechanics, organohydrogels, reconfigurable network, ferrofluid, mechanical homeostasis

References(30)

[1]
P. Egan,; R. Sinko,; P. R. LeDuc,; S. Keten, The role of mechanics in biological and bio-inspired systems. Nat. Commun. 2015, 6, 7418.
[2]
J. Y. Mo,; S. F. Prévost,; L. M. Blowes; M. Egertová,; N. J. Terrill,; W. Wang,; M. R. Elphick,; H. S. Gupta, Interfibrillar stiffening of echinoderm mutable collagenous tissue demonstrated at the nanoscale. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2016, 113, E6362-E6371.
[3]
X. Wu,; W. M. Huang,; W. H. Wu,; B. Xue,; D. F. Xiang,; Y. Li,; M. Qin,; F. Sun,; W. Wang,; W. B. Zhang, et al. Reversible hydrogels with tunable mechanical properties for optically controlling cell migration. Nano Res. 2018, 11, 5556-5565.
[4]
A. Balasubramanian,; M. Standish,; C. J. Bettinger, Microfluidic thermally activated materials for rapid control of macroscopic compliance. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2014, 24, 4860-4866.
[5]
L. Tang,; L. Wang,; X. Yang,; Y. Y. Feng,; Y. Li,; W. Feng, Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-based smart hydrogels: Design, properties and applications. Prog. Mater. Sci. 2021, 115, 100702.
[6]
Z. X. Zhang,; L. Wang,; H. T. Yu,; F. Zhang,; L. Tang,; Y. Y. Feng,; W. Feng, Highly transparent, self-healable, and adhesive organogels for bio-inspired intelligent ionic skins. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2020, 12, 15657-15666.
[7]
T. J. White,; D. J. Broer, Programmable and adaptive mechanics with liquid crystal polymer networks and elastomers. Nat. Mater. 2015, 14, 1087-1098.
[8]
F. Lancia,; A. Ryabchun,; A. D. Nguindjel,; S. Kwangmettatam,; N. Katsonis, Mechanical adaptability of artificial muscles from nanoscale molecular action. Nat. Commun. 2019, 10, 4819.
[9]
X. Zhou,; C. Li,; Y. Shao,; C. Chen,; Z. Q. Yang,; D. S. Liu, Reversibly tuning the mechanical properties of a DNA hydrogel by a DNA nanomotor. Chem. Commun. 2016, 52, 10668-10671.
[10]
F. Yang,; A. Cholewinski,; L. Yu,; G. Rivers,; B. X. Zhao, A hybrid material that reversibly switches between two stable solid states. Nat. Mater. 2019, 18, 874-882.
[11]
Z. G. Zhao,; Y. X. Liu,; K. J. Zhang,; S. Y. Zhuo,; R. C. Fang,; J. Q. Zhang,; L. Jiang,; M. J. Liu, Biphasic synergistic gel materials with switchable mechanics and self-healing capacity. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2017, 56, 13464-13469.
[12]
I. M. Van Meerbeek,; B. C. Mac Murray,; J. W. Kim,; S. S. Robinson,; P. X. Zou,; M. N. Silberstein,; R. F. Shepherd, Morphing metal and elastomer bicontinuous foams for reversible stiffness, shape memory, and self-healing soft machines. Adv. Mater. 2016, 28, 2801-2806.
[13]
H. R. Vutukuri,; A. F. Demirörs,; B. Peng,; P. D. J. van Oostrum,; A. Imhof,; A. van Blaaderen, Colloidal analogues of charged and uncharged polymer chains with tunable stiffness. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2012, 51, 11249-11253.
[14]
C. Majidi,; R. J. Wood, Tunable elastic stiffness with microconfined magnetorheological domains at low magnetic field. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2010, 97, 164104.
[15]
P. Testa,; R. W. Style,; J. Z. Cui,; C. Donnelly,; E. Borisova,; P. M. Derlet,; E. R. Dufresne,; L. J. Heyderman, Magnetically addressable shape-memory and stiffening in a composite elastomer. Adv. Mater. 2019, 31, 1900561.
[16]
W. D. Wang,; J. V. I. Timonen,; A. Carlson; D. M. Drotlef,; C. T. Zhang,; S. Kolle,; A. Grinthal,; T. S. Wong,; B. Hatton,; S. H. Kang, et al. Multifunctional ferrofluid-infused surfaces with reconfigurable multiscale topography. Nature 2018, 559, 77-82.
[17]
M. J. Liu,; Y. Ishida,; Y. Ebina,; T. Sasaki,; T. Hikima,; M. Takata,; T. Aida, An anisotropic hydrogel with electrostatic repulsion between cofacially aligned nanosheets. Nature 2015, 517, 68-72.
[18]
G. Z. Lum,; Z. Ye,; X. G. Dong,; H. Marvi,; O. Erin,; W. Q. Hu,; M. Sitti, Shape-programmable magnetic soft matter. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2016, 113, E6007-E6015.
[19]
W. W. Lei,; G. L. Hou,; M. J. Liu,; Q. F. Rong,; Y. C. Xu,; Y. Tian,; L. Jiang, High-speed transport of liquid droplets in magnetic tubular microactuators. Sci. Adv. 2018, 4, eaau8767.
[20]
G. Y. Jiang,; S. Q. Song,; Y. H. Zhai,; C. Feng,; Y. Zhang, Improving the filler dispersion of polychloroprene/carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes composites by non-covalent functionalization of carboxylated ionic liquid. Compos. Sci. Technol. 2016, 123, 171-178.
[21]
K. Butter,; P. H. H. Bomans,; P. M. Frederik,; G. J. Vroege,; A. P. Philipse, Direct observation of dipolar chains in iron ferrofluids by cryogenic electron microscopy. Nat. Mater. 2003, 2, 88-91.
[22]
I. Torres-Díaz,; C. Rinaldi, Recent progress in ferrofluids research: Novel applications of magnetically controllable and tunable fluids. Soft Matter 2014, 10, 8584-8602.
[23]
K. Liu,; A. Mokhtare,; X. Z. Xue,; E. P. Furlani, Theoretical study of the photothermal behaviour of self-assembled magnetic-plasmonic chain structures. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2017, 19, 31613-31620.
[24]
N. N. Ni,; Y. F. Wen,; D. L. He,; X. S. Yi,; Z. J. Zhao,; Y. H. Xu, Synchronous improvement of loss factors and storage modulus of structural damping composite with functionalized polyamide nonwoven fabrics. Mater. Des. 2016, 94, 377-383.
[25]
B. J. Park,; F. F. Fang,; H. J. Choi, Magnetorheology: Materials and application. Soft Matter 2010, 6, 5246-5253.
[26]
R. J. G. Johnson,; K. M. Haas,; B. J. Lear, Fe3O4 nanoparticles as robust photothermal agents for driving high barrier reactions under ambient conditions. Chem. Commun. 2015, 51, 417-420.
[27]
S. Feng,; X. Q. Xiong,; G. L. Zhang,; N. Xia,; Y. M. Chen,; W. Wang, Hierarchical structure in oriented fibers of a dendronized polymer. Macromolecules 2009, 42, 281-287.
[28]
B. Andò,; S. Baglio,; A. Beninato, Behavior analysis of ferrofluidic gyroscope performances. Sens. Actuators, A: Phys. 2010, 162, 348-354.
[29]
T. Miyazaki,; Z. Zhao,; Y. Ichihara,; D. Yoshino,; T. Imamura,; K. Sawada,; S. Hayano,; H. Kamioka,; S. Mori,; H. Hirata, et al. Mechanical regulation of bone homeostasis through p130Cas-mediated alleviation of NF-ĸB activity. Sci. Adv. 2019, 5, eaau7802.
[30]
S. N. Weng,; Y. Shao,; W. Q. Chen,; J. P. Fu, Mechanosensitive subcellular rheostasis drives emergent single-cell mechanical homeostasis. Nat. Mater. 2016, 15, 961-967.
File
12274_2020_3079_MOESM1_ESM.pdf (1.4 MB)
Publication history
Copyright
Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 29 June 2020
Revised: 01 August 2020
Accepted: 27 August 2020
Published: 05 January 2021
Issue date: January 2021

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholar (No. 21725401), the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2017YFA0207800), the 111 project (No. B14009), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

Return