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Utrera-Barrios S, Steenackers N, Terryn S, Ferrentino P, Verdejo R, Van Asche G, López-Manchado MA, Brancart J, Hernández Santana M. Unlocking the potential of self-healing and recyclable ionic elastomers for soft robotics applications. Mater Horiz 2024; 11:708-725. [PMID: 37997164 DOI: 10.1039/d3mh01312j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
In the field of soft robotics, current materials face challenges related to their load capacity, durability, and sustainability. Innovative solutions are required to address these problems beyond conventional strategies, which often lack long-term ecological viability. This study aims to overcome these limitations using mechanically robust, self-healing, and recyclable ionic elastomers based on carboxylated nitrile rubber (XNBR). The designed materials exhibited excellent mechanical properties, including tensile strengths (TS) exceeding 19 MPa and remarkable deformability, with maximum elongations (EB) over 650%. Moreover, these materials showed high self-healing capabilities, with 100% recovery efficiency of TS and EB at 110 °C after 3 to 5 h, and full recyclability, preserving their mechanical performance even after three recycling cycles. Furthermore, they were also moldable and readily scalable. Tendon-driven soft robotic grippers were successfully developed out of ionic elastomers, illustrating the potential of self-healing and recyclability in the field of soft robotics to reduce maintenance costs, increase material durability, and improve sustainability.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Utrera-Barrios
- Institute of Polymer Science and Technology (ICTP), CSIC, Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
| | - N Steenackers
- Physical Chemistry and Polymer Science (FYSC), Department of Materials and Chemistry (MACH), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
- Brubotics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Imec, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - S Terryn
- Physical Chemistry and Polymer Science (FYSC), Department of Materials and Chemistry (MACH), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
- Brubotics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Imec, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - P Ferrentino
- Brubotics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Imec, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - R Verdejo
- Institute of Polymer Science and Technology (ICTP), CSIC, Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
| | - G Van Asche
- Physical Chemistry and Polymer Science (FYSC), Department of Materials and Chemistry (MACH), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - M A López-Manchado
- Institute of Polymer Science and Technology (ICTP), CSIC, Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
| | - J Brancart
- Physical Chemistry and Polymer Science (FYSC), Department of Materials and Chemistry (MACH), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - M Hernández Santana
- Institute of Polymer Science and Technology (ICTP), CSIC, Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
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Cerdan K, Gandara-Loe J, Arnauts G, Vangramberen V, Ginzburg A, Ameloot R, Koos E, Van Puyvelde P. On the gelation of humins: from transient to covalent networks. Soft Matter 2023; 19:2801-2814. [PMID: 36995046 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm01506d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Humins are a by-product of many acid-catalyzed biorefinery processes converting polysaccharides into platform chemicals. The valorization of humin residue to increase the profit of biorefinery operations and reduce waste is a field that is growing interest as the production of humins continues to increase. This includes their valorization in materials science. For successful processing of humin-based materials, this study aims to understand the thermal polymerization mechanisms of humins from a rheological perspective. Thermal crosslinking of raw humins leads to an increase in their molecular weight, which in turn leads to the formation of a gel. Humin's gels structure combines physical (thermally reversible) and chemical (thermally irreversible) crosslinks, and temperature plays an essential role in the crosslink density and the gel properties. High temperatures delay the formation of a gel due to the scission of physicochemical interactions, drastically decreasing their viscosity, whereas upon cooling a stronger gel is formed combining the recovered physicochemical bonds and the newly created chemical crosslinks. Thus, a transition from a supramolecular network to a covalently crosslinked network is observed, and properties such as the elasticity or reprocessability of humin gels are influenced by the stage of polymerization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth Cerdan
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology (SMaRT), KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200J, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium.
| | - Jesus Gandara-Loe
- Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, Centre for Membrane Separation, Adsorption, Catalysis and Spectroscopy, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200J, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Giel Arnauts
- Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, Centre for Membrane Separation, Adsorption, Catalysis and Spectroscopy, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200J, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Vedran Vangramberen
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology (SMaRT), KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200J, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium.
| | - Anton Ginzburg
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology (SmaRT), Wetenschapspark 27, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Rob Ameloot
- Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, Centre for Membrane Separation, Adsorption, Catalysis and Spectroscopy, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200J, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Erin Koos
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology (SMaRT), KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200J, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium.
| | - Peter Van Puyvelde
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology (SMaRT), KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200J, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium.
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Cerdan K, Moya C, Van Puyvelde P, Bruylants G, Brancart J. Magnetic Self-Healing Composites: Synthesis and Applications. Molecules 2022; 27:3796. [PMID: 35744920 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27123796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Revised: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Magnetic composites and self-healing materials have been drawing much attention in their respective fields of application. Magnetic fillers enable changes in the material properties of objects, in the shapes and structures of objects, and ultimately in the motion and actuation of objects in response to the application of an external field. Self-healing materials possess the ability to repair incurred damage and consequently recover the functional properties during healing. The combination of these two unique features results in important advances in both fields. First, the self-healing ability enables the recovery of the magnetic properties of magnetic composites and structures to extend their service lifetimes in applications such as robotics and biomedicine. Second, magnetic (nano)particles offer many opportunities to improve the healing performance of the resulting self-healing magnetic composites. Magnetic fillers are used for the remote activation of thermal healing through inductive heating and for the closure of large damage by applying an alternating or constant external magnetic field, respectively. Furthermore, hard magnetic particles can be used to permanently magnetize self-healing composites to autonomously re-join severed parts. This paper reviews the synthesis, processing and manufacturing of magnetic self-healing composites for applications in health, robotic actuation, flexible electronics, and many more.
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