1993 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Electrically Driven Chemomechanical Polymer Gels as Artificial Muscle
| Project/Area Number |
03555188
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Developmental Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
高分子物性・高分子材料（含機械材料）
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| Research Institution | Hokkaido University (1992-1993)
Ibaraki University (1991) |
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Principal Investigator |
OSADA Yoshihito Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, Professor, 理学部, 教授 (60007804)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
YASUNAGA Hidekazu Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, Assistant Professor, 理学部, 助手 (80241298)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1991 – 1993
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| Keywords | Artificial muscle / Polyelectrolyte gel / Chemomechanical system / Soft actuator / Surfactant / Charge-transfer complex / Cooperativity / Electrokinitic phenomenon |
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| Research Abstract |
We have developed a new type of electrically-driven chemomechanical system which shows quick responses with motility. The principle of this movement is based on an electrokinetic molecular assembly reaction of solvated cationic surfactants, N-dodecylpyridinium chloride (C12PyCl), onto the crosslinked polymer gel mode from poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid)(PAMPS), which is essentially a stoichiometric ion exchange reaction characterized by two processes. One is electrostatic salt formation of surfactant molecules with oppositely-charged sulfonates in the gel (initiation prosecc). The other is a hydrophobic interaction between bound surfactant, which stabilizes the aggregate in such as settle at the adjacent to the already occupied site along the polymer chain (propagation process). The latter is called as "cooperative process". Here, the electric field drives and controls the direction of the equilibrium to give anisotropic binding, i.e., when the dc.voltage is turned on, the surfactant molecules move towards the cathode by electrophoresis and bind with the gel preferentially on the side of the PAMPS gel strip facing the anode. This causes an anisotropic contraction of the gel and bending towards the anode. Thus, a swinging of the gel was performed by applying electric field changing its polarity every two seconds. The motility of the gel is gentle and flexible and can serve as a new class of soft actuator or molecular machine different from hydraulic engine and metallic machine.
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