| 研究実績の概要 |
Owing to their similarity to biological tissues in terms of softness and wetness, hydrogel actuators are considered as one of the most promising artificial muscles. However, the response speed and deformation rate of conventional hydrogel actuators are generally inferior to those of actual muscles, which strictly limit the application of hydrogel actuators. Thus, the design and synthesize of hydrogel actuators realizing fast and large deformation still remains a great challenge.
In my research, I successfully developed a photoresponsive hydrogel actuator which can deform quickly (0.5 s) and largely (80 %) in an open air. The hydrogel, composed of thermoresponsive PNIPA, is embedded with magnetically aligned titanate nanosheets (TiNSs) for generating internal electrostatics, together with gold nanoparticles for photothermal conversion. When irradiated with a blue laser light, gold nanoparticles generate heat so that the temperature of the whole system becomes over the LCST of PNIPA, thereby leading to the enhancement of the electrostatic repulsion between titanate nanosheets and subsequent anisotropic deformation of the hydrogel. By taking advantage of this behavior, the hydrogel successfully mimic an earthworm move when repeatedly scanned with a blue laser light.
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| 現在までの達成度 (区分) |
現在までの達成度 (区分)
1: 当初の計画以上に進展している
理由
Hydrogel actuators are considered as one of the most promising artificial muscles. However, the response speed and deformation rate of conventional hydrogel actuators are generally inferior to those of actual muscles, which strictly limit the application of hydrogel actuators. In my research, I successfully developed a photoresponsive hydrogel actuator which can deform quickly (0.5 s) and largely (80 %) in an open air. Both the responsive speed and the deformation ratio are among the largest in the field of hydrogel actuators. I also achieved that the hydrogel can mimic an earthworm move when repeatedly scanned with a blue laser light, which would contribute greatly to the development of high performance soft actuators.
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| 今後の研究の推進方策 |
I will conduct further optimization of the conditions and ratio for a highest level of the light-powered actuation. Meanwhile, I will design a sheet-shaped hydrogel and demonstrate super fast and large deformation of light controlled bending, curling or walking of the hydrogel actuators. Finally, I will write the manuscript and submit the paper.
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