Multiblock poly(ether-b-amide)copolymers comprised of PA1212 and PPO-PEO-PPO with specific moisture-responsive and antistatic properties

Functional multiblock poly(ether-b-amide)(PEBA)copolymers,comprised of PA1212(polyamide 1212)as hard segments and Jeffamine ED-2003 as soft segments,were successfully prepared via two-step melt polycondensation without any amidation catalyst.Here,using diamino-terminated poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)(PPO-PEO-PPO),Jeffamine ED-2003,enhances the compatibility between polyamide oligomer and polyether,which is better than the traditional route using hydroxyl-terminated polyether.The chemical structure of multiblock PEBAs,as well as the microphase separated structure with crystalline phase of polyamide and polyether,were confirmed by heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation spectrum,heteronuclear multiple quantum correlation spectrum,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR),differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis.The hydrophilic PEBA copolymers showed water adsorption ranging from 87.3%to 17.1%depending on the polyether content,and specially showed moisture responsive behavior within seconds when exposed to moisture.The corresponding mechanism was studied using time-resolved attenuated total reflectance FT-IR spectroscopy in the molecular level and the water diffusion coefficient was estimated to be 1.07×10^(–8)cm^(2)∙s^(-1).Two-dimensional correlation FT-IR spectra analysis was performed to confirm that the interaction between water and polyether phase was in preference to that between water and polyamide matrix,and water molecule only forms hydrogen bond with the polyether segment.Due to the incorporation of PEO segments,the PEBAs have the surface resistivity varying from 5.6×10^(9)to 6.5×10^(10)Ω,which makes PEBA potential candidate as permanent antistatic agent.

Dried bonito flakes-inspired moisture-responsive actuator with a gradient structure for smart devices

Exploring high-performance soft actuators from biomass resources is significant for developing eco-friendly smart devices.Dried bonito(DB)flake is a common food as well as a biomass material,and it can produce irregular motion in changed moisture,just like dancing.Inspired by this intriguing phenomenon,a cost-effective,biocom patible,and biodegradable moisture-responsive DB film actuator with a gradient structure is developed.The DB film actuator exhibits rapid and reversible bending deformation triggered by a humidity gradient with a high bending speed(40°s-1)and a maximum bending angle(180°).More-over,the DB film actuator shows large bending deformation(-71°to+51°)with a high actuation force(214.7 Pa)in response to changes in relative humidity.Furthermore,the actuation performance can be also tuned by adjusting the thickness of the film.Potential applications of this actuator,including smart grippers,crawling robots,and biomimetic flowers for visible humidity sensing,are demonstrated.More importantly,smart sweat-responsive wearables that automatically deform to promote sweat evaporation and convection during exercise are constructed based on the actuator,making it promising for adaptive personal thermal management.This work offers an easily processable,cost-effective,and environmentally benign strategy to construct moisture-responsive actuators for future eco-friendly smart devices.

Twisted and coiled bamboo artificial muscles for moisture responsive torsional and tensile actuation

Smart textiles responding to the ambient environment like temperature,humidity,and light are highly desirable to improve the comfortability and realize multifunctions.The bamboo yarn has merits like air permeability,biodegradability,and excellent heat dissipation performance,but it has not been prepared for responsive materials and smart textiles.In this paper,the moisture-responsive twisted bamboo yarns were plied to form a self-balanced torsional actuator and wrapped around a mandrel to form a coil,followed by water immersion and evaporation to fix the shape and serve as a tensile actuator.A torsional actuation of 64.4°·mm^-1 was realized for the twisted actuator in 4.2 s;a maximum elongation of 133%or contraction of 50%was achieved for a coiled tensile actuator with good cyclability.The porous structure of bamboo yarns helped improve the water absorbance speed and decrease the response time of moisture.The self-balanced two-ply physical structure and reversible generation of chemical phase after soaking in aqueous solution fixed internal stress and provided good cyclability.With the unique properties including aqueous water-induced shape fixation and moisture-induced actuation,the application of tensile actuation of bamboo yarns was demonstrated,showing promising prospects on smart textiles.