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Polymers
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Frontier in Magneto-/ Electro-Active Elastomers
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Frontier in Magneto-/ Electro-Active Elastomers

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Smart and Functional Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 April 2023) | Viewed by 8849

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Anil K. Bastola

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Additive Manufacturing (CfAM), School of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG8 1BB, UK
Interests: magneto-active polymers; 3D/4D printing; additive manufacturing; sensors; actuators; soft robotics; magnetorheology; viscoelasticity
Dr. Milan Shrestha

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Continental-NTU Corporate Laboratory, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Interests: electro-active polymers; soft robotics; artificial muscles; smart haptics; smart acoustics; smart windows; wearable sensors; stretchable thin-film electrodes; dielectric elastomers; electro-adhesion

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the interest in soft robotics is accelerating with the advancement in robotics, increasing concern regarding human-machine interactions and various possibilities offered by the smart/responsive materials that can sense and respond to external stimuli such as magnetic/electric field, humidity, pH, and temperature. Soft and active materials such as magneto-active polymers (MAPs) and electro-active polymers (EAPs) possess a huge potential in soft robotics due to their various appealing advantages such as remote contactless actuation with multiple actuation modes, high actuation strain and strain rate, self-sensing, silent operation, high energy density and fast response.

Soft magneto-active and electro-active polymers are usually composed of an elastomeric matrix and embedded inclusions, for example, magnetic fillers such as carbonyl iron powders, iron (II, III) oxides and electric fillers such as barium titanate and carbon nanotubes. With various features such as simplicity in fabrication and implementation, softness and even biocompatibility, these active materials have been implemented in a number of different applications such as smart haptics, smart vibration/acoustics, optical device, wearable sensors, and actuators and many more. Although having great potential for commercialization, most of the MAP and EAP systems are still laboratory-based prototypes and there is yet a big room for improvements to implement such outstanding multifunctional materials in industrial applications. The reasons behind this are their shortcoming in long-term reliability of device performance, degradation of the elastomer materials over an extended period of time, the requirement of high voltage/magnetic field, fabrication process not being aligned with current industrially available facilities, and so on. However, a plethora of remarkable successes in the field of MAPs and EAPs can be seen in recent years via a synergistic utilization of various polymeric matrices, different fillers, and advanced manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing.

This Special Issue calls for original research articles as well as state-of-the-art reviews, and short communications from researchers across the world in the field of magneto-active and electro-active polymers. The topic focus will be on advances in magneto-/ electro-active polymers including but not limited to novel material development, implementation of 3D/4D printing techniques, magneto-mechanical/electro-mechanical characterizations, modelling, magneto-electro coupling and innovative applications.

Dr. Anil K. Bastola
Dr. Milan Shrestha
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • magneto-active polymers
  • electro-active polymers
  • magneto-electro coupling
  • magento-active materials and design
  • electro-active materials and design
  • 3D/4D printing
  • magneto-mechanical testing
  • electro-mechanical testing
  • soft robotics
  • sensors and actutaors
  • artificial muscles
  • soft smart haptics, acoustics, optical devices
  • dielectric elastomer actuators and compliant electrodes

 

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 4714 KiB  
Article
Bio-Inspired Magnetically Controlled Reversibly Actuating Multimaterial Fibers
by Muhammad Farhan, Daniel S. Hartstein, Yvonne Pieper, Marc Behl, Andreas Lendlein and Axel T. Neffe
Polymers 2023, 15(9), 2233; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15092233 - 08 May 2023
Viewed by 1318
Abstract
Movements in plants, such as the coiling of tendrils in climbing plants, have been studied as inspiration for coiling actuators in robotics. A promising approach to mimic this behavior is the use of multimaterial systems that show different elastic moduli. Here, we report [...] Read more.
Movements in plants, such as the coiling of tendrils in climbing plants, have been studied as inspiration for coiling actuators in robotics. A promising approach to mimic this behavior is the use of multimaterial systems that show different elastic moduli. Here, we report on the development of magnetically controllable/triggerable multimaterial fibers (MMFs) as artificial tendrils, which can reversibly coil and uncoil on stimulation from an alternating magnetic field. These MMFs are based on deformed shape-memory fibers with poly[ethylene-co-(vinyl acetate)] (PEVA) as their core and a silicone-based soft elastomeric magnetic nanocomposite shell. The core fiber provides a temperature-dependent expansion/contraction that propagates the coiling of the MMF, while the shell enables inductive heating to actuate the movements in these MMFs. Composites with mNP weight content ≥ 15 wt% were required to achieve heating suitable to initiate movement. The MMFs coil upon application of the magnetic field, in which a degree of coiling N = 0.8 ± 0.2 was achieved. Cooling upon switching OFF the magnetic field reversed some of the coiling, giving a reversible change in coiling ∆n = 2 ± 0.5. These MMFs allow magnetically controlled remote and reversible actuation in artificial (soft) plant-like tendrils, and are envisioned as fiber actuators in future robotics applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontier in Magneto-/ Electro-Active Elastomers)
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21 pages, 8658 KiB  
Article
Microstructured Magnetoactive Elastomers for Switchable Wettability
by Raphael Kriegl, Gaia Kravanja, Luka Hribar, Lucija Čoga, Irena Drevenšek-Olenik, Matija Jezeršek, Mitjan Kalin and Mikhail Shamonin
Polymers 2022, 14(18), 3883; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14183883 - 17 Sep 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2093
Abstract
We demonstrate the control of wettability of non-structured and microstructured magnetoactive elastomers (MAEs) by magnetic field. The synthesized composite materials have a concentration of carbonyl iron particles of 75 wt.% (≈27 vol.%) and three different stiffnesses of the elastomer matrix. A new method [...] Read more.
We demonstrate the control of wettability of non-structured and microstructured magnetoactive elastomers (MAEs) by magnetic field. The synthesized composite materials have a concentration of carbonyl iron particles of 75 wt.% (≈27 vol.%) and three different stiffnesses of the elastomer matrix. A new method of fabrication of MAE coatings on plastic substrates is presented, which allows one to enhance the response of the apparent contact angle to the magnetic field by exposing the particle-enriched side of MAEs to water. A magnetic field is not applied during crosslinking. The highest variation of the contact angle from (113 ± 1)° in zero field up to (156 ± 2)° at about 400 mT is achieved in the MAE sample with the softest matrix. Several lamellar and pillared MAE structures are fabricated by laser micromachining. The lateral dimension of surface structures is about 50 µm and the depth varies between 3 µm and 60 µm. A systematic investigation of the effects of parameters of laser processing (laser power and the number of passages of the laser beam) on the wetting behavior of these structures in the absence and presence of a magnetic field is performed. In particular, strong anisotropy of the wetting behavior of lamellar structures is observed. The results are qualitatively discussed in the framework of the Wenzel and Cassie–Baxter models. Finally, directions of further research on magnetically controlled wettability of microstructured MAE surfaces are outlined. The obtained results may be useful for the development of magnetically controlled smart surfaces for droplet-based microfluidics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontier in Magneto-/ Electro-Active Elastomers)
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16 pages, 19103 KiB  
Article
Alleviation of Residual Vibrations in Hard-Magnetic Soft Actuators Using a Command-Shaping Scheme
by Naresh Nagal, Shikhar Srivastava, Chandan Pandey, Ankur Gupta and Atul Kumar Sharma
Polymers 2022, 14(15), 3037; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14153037 - 27 Jul 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 1784
Abstract
Hard-magnetic soft materials belong to a class of the highly deformable magneto-active elastomer family of smart materials and provide a promising technology for flexible electronics, soft robots, and functional metamaterials. When hard-magnetic soft actuators are driven by a multiple-step input signal (Heaviside magnetic [...] Read more.
Hard-magnetic soft materials belong to a class of the highly deformable magneto-active elastomer family of smart materials and provide a promising technology for flexible electronics, soft robots, and functional metamaterials. When hard-magnetic soft actuators are driven by a multiple-step input signal (Heaviside magnetic field signal), the residual oscillations exhibited by the actuator about equilibrium positions may limit their performance and accuracy in practical applications. This work aims at developing a command-shaping scheme for alleviating residual vibrations in a magnetically driven planar hard-magnetic soft actuator. The control scheme is based on the balance of magnetic and elastic forces at a critical point in an oscillation cycle. The equation governing the dynamics of the actuator is devised using the Euler–Lagrange equation. The constitutive behaviour of the hard-magnetic soft material is modeled using the Gent model of hyperelasticity, which accounts for the strain-stiffening effects. The dynamic response of the actuator under a step input signal is obtained by numerically solving the devised dynamic governing equation using MATLAB ODE solver. To demonstrate the applicability of the developed command-shaping scheme, a thorough investigation showing the effect of various parameters such as material damping, the sequence of desired equilibrium positions, and polymer chain extensibility on the performance of the proposed scheme is performed. The designed control scheme is found to be effective in controlling the motion of the hard-magnetic soft actuator at any desired equilibrium position. The present study can find its potential application in the design and development of an open-loop controller for hard-magnetic soft actuators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontier in Magneto-/ Electro-Active Elastomers)
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18 pages, 3940 KiB  
Article
Towards 4D Printing of Very Soft Heterogeneous Magnetoactive Layers for Morphing Surface Applications via Liquid Additive Manufacturing
by Lucas Brusa da Costa Linn, Kostas Danas and Laurence Bodelot
Polymers 2022, 14(9), 1684; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14091684 - 21 Apr 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2136
Abstract
This work explores the use of liquid additive manufacturing (LAM) to print heterogeneous magnetoactive layers. A general method is proposed where, by studying the printing of pure silicone lines, the successful printing of closed shapes, open shapes, and a combination thereof, can be [...] Read more.
This work explores the use of liquid additive manufacturing (LAM) to print heterogeneous magnetoactive layers. A general method is proposed where, by studying the printing of pure silicone lines, the successful printing of closed shapes, open shapes, and a combination thereof, can be achieved while accounting for the continuous deposition that is specific to LAM. The results of this characterization are subsequently exploited for the printing of a heterogeneous layer composed of four magnetoactive discs embedded in a pure silicone square. Such a layer, when affixed to a softer silicone substrate, yields a system that produces truly three-dimensional surface patterns upon application of a magnetic field. Hence, this work demonstrates that LAM is a promising approach for the rapid 4D printing of morphing surfaces exhibiting 3D surface patterns that can be actuated remotely and reversibly via a magnetic field. Such heterogenous layers have a wide range of applications, ranging from haptics to camouflage to differential cell growth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontier in Magneto-/ Electro-Active Elastomers)
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