Electro-mechano responsive elastomers with self-tunable conductivity and stiffness
Electro-mechano responsive elastomers with self-tunable conductivity and stiffness
Materials with programmable conductivity and stiffness offer new design opportunities for next-generation engineered systems in soft robotics and electronic devices. However, existing approaches fail to harness variable electrical and mechanical properties synergistically and lack the ability to self-respond to environmental changes. We report an electro-mechano responsive Field’s metal hybrid elastomer exhibiting variable and tunable conductivity, strain sensitivity, and stiffness. By synergistically harnessing these properties, we demonstrate two applications with over an order of magnitude performance improvement compared to state-of-the-art, including a self-triggered multiaxis compliance compensator for robotic manipulators, and a resettable, highly compact, and fast current-limiting fuse with an adjustable fusing current. We envisage that the extraordinary electromechanical properties of our hybrid elastomer will bring substantial advancements in resilient robotic systems, intelligent instruments, and flexible electronics.
Yun, Guolin
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Cole, Tim
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Zhang, Yuxin
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Zheng, Jiahao
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Sun, Shuaishuai
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Ou-Yang, Yiming
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Shu, Jian
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Lu, Hongda
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Zhang, Qingtian
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Wang, Yongjing
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Pham, Duc
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Hasan, Tawfique
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Li, Weihua
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Zhang, Shiwu
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Tang, Shi Yang
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January 2023
Yun, Guolin
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Cole, Tim
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Zhang, Yuxin
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Zheng, Jiahao
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Sun, Shuaishuai
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Ou-Yang, Yiming
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Shu, Jian
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Lu, Hongda
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Zhang, Qingtian
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Wang, Yongjing
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Pham, Duc
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Hasan, Tawfique
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Li, Weihua
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Zhang, Shiwu
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Tang, Shi Yang
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Yun, Guolin, Cole, Tim, Zhang, Yuxin, Zheng, Jiahao, Sun, Shuaishuai, Ou-Yang, Yiming, Shu, Jian, Lu, Hongda, Zhang, Qingtian, Wang, Yongjing, Pham, Duc, Hasan, Tawfique, Li, Weihua, Zhang, Shiwu and Tang, Shi Yang
(2023)
Electro-mechano responsive elastomers with self-tunable conductivity and stiffness.
Science Advances, 9 (4), [eadf1141].
(doi:10.1126/sciadv.adf1141).
Abstract
Materials with programmable conductivity and stiffness offer new design opportunities for next-generation engineered systems in soft robotics and electronic devices. However, existing approaches fail to harness variable electrical and mechanical properties synergistically and lack the ability to self-respond to environmental changes. We report an electro-mechano responsive Field’s metal hybrid elastomer exhibiting variable and tunable conductivity, strain sensitivity, and stiffness. By synergistically harnessing these properties, we demonstrate two applications with over an order of magnitude performance improvement compared to state-of-the-art, including a self-triggered multiaxis compliance compensator for robotic manipulators, and a resettable, highly compact, and fast current-limiting fuse with an adjustable fusing current. We envisage that the extraordinary electromechanical properties of our hybrid elastomer will bring substantial advancements in resilient robotic systems, intelligent instruments, and flexible electronics.
Text
sciadv.adf1141
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Published date: January 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
We acknowledge the use of the Process Room at the University of Birmingham and the Experimental Centre of Engineering and Material Sciences (USTC). This work was funded by the following: Royal Society grant NIF\R1\211458 (to G.Y. and T.H.), Royal Society grant IEC\NSFC\201223 (to S.-Y.T.), Royal Society grant IEC\NSFC\181018 (to Y.W.), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) grant EP/V008382/1 (to S.-Y.T.), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) grant EP/W00206X/1 (to Y.W.), National Natural Science Foundation of China grants 51975550 and U21A20119 (to S.Z.), and Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant DP230100823 (to W.L.)
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2023 The Authors, some rights reserved.
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 481925
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/481925
ISSN: 2375-2548
PURE UUID: 3d7366c3-4a12-4c7e-87f8-2f9bf62016e0
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Date deposited: 13 Sep 2023 17:09
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:13
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Contributors
Author:
Guolin Yun
Author:
Tim Cole
Author:
Yuxin Zhang
Author:
Jiahao Zheng
Author:
Shuaishuai Sun
Author:
Yiming Ou-Yang
Author:
Jian Shu
Author:
Hongda Lu
Author:
Qingtian Zhang
Author:
Yongjing Wang
Author:
Duc Pham
Author:
Tawfique Hasan
Author:
Weihua Li
Author:
Shiwu Zhang
Author:
Shi Yang Tang
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