南开大学张振杰团队开发了一类刚柔耦合的结晶交联聚合物作为蒸汽机械驱动器。相关研究成果于2022年1月17日发表在国际顶尖学术期刊《德国应用化学》。

制造能够有效地将外界刺激转化为机械功的机械响应致动器对于实际应用具有重要意义。

该文中，研究人员合理地设计了一类刚柔耦合结晶交联聚合物（CCPs）来制备机械响应致动器。柔性大分子单体与刚性单体的界面缩合反应形成了一系列独立的CCP膜。值得注意的是，其是交联聚合物显示出高结晶度和孔隙率的第一个例子。

此外，CCP膜具有良好的机械性能和有趣的蒸汽触发驱动性能，而且是可逆和可重复的。研究人员发现，不寻常的聚合物结构、高蒸汽吸附和各向异性膜有助于CCP致动器的定向变形性能。

该合成方法为先进应用的智能材料的设计和制造提供了新的见解。

附：英文原文

Title: A Class of Rigid-Flexible Coupling Crystalline Crosslinked Polymers as Vapomechanical Actuators

Author: En Lin, Zhifang Wang, Xiuyu Zhao, Zhaoyi Liu, Dong Yan, Fazheng Jin, Yao Chen, Peng Cheng, Zhenjie Zhang

Issue&Volume: 2022-01-17

Abstract: Fabricating mechanically responsive actuators that can efficiently convert external stimuli into mechanical work is of great significance for real-world applications. Herein, we rationally design a class of rigid-flexible coupling crystalline crosslinked polymers (CCPs) to fabricate vapomechanically responsive actuators. Interfacial condensation reactions of flexible macromers with rigid monomers afford a series of freestanding CCP membranes. Notably, it is the first example that crosslinked polymers show high crystallinity and porosity. Moreover, CCP membranes exhibit good mechanical properties and interesting vapor-triggered actuation performance, which is reversible and repeatable. We find that the unusual polymer structures, high vapor sorption, and anisotropic membranes contribute to the directional deformation performance of CCP actuators. The synthesis approach in this work provides new insights into the design and fabrication of smart materials for advanced applications.

DOI: 10.1002/anie.202117390

Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.202117390