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Polymer Gels as EAPs: How to Start Experimenting with Them

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Electromechanically Active Polymers

Part of the book series: Polymers and Polymeric Composites: A Reference Series ((POPOC))

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Abstract

Electromechanically active polymers (EAP) show great potential for many actuator applications. In this context, hydrogels which are also considered as active polymers have shown also actuator and sensor applications due to their volume phase transition. Nevertheless, in the general term of electromechanically active polymers there is not an exact definition about what is an active polymer. Hydrogels can be considered as active polymer materials not only because of their volume phase transition but also due to their electrical and dielectric properties depending on their internal or chemical modification. The most spread definition of hydrogels is that they are soft and wet materials which show very intriguing properties regarding their volume phase transition. Applications of hydrogels are tightly restricted due to their relative mechanical weakness. In the past 10 years a lot of research has been done in the field of modifying the mechanical properties of hydrogels in order to adapt these materials to daily life requirements. They have been used as sensors and actuators in many fields of science and engineering including microfluidics and biomedicine. In this chapter, we briefly present the main properties of hydrogels, some of the methods used to characterize them as well as the principal applications from an engineering and general point of view. This chapter could be used as a general introduction to the topic of hydrogels, more specifically thermal responsive ones, and also represents an opportunity for all those who want to enter to the field of hydrogels.

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Abbreviations

AIBN:

Azobisisobutyronitrile

BIS:

N,N′-Methylenebisacrylamide

BPO:

Benzoyl peroxide

DMIAAm:

N, N-Dimethylmaleinimidethylacrylamide

EBL:

Electron beam lithography

LCST:

Lower critical solution temperature

mTM:

Microtransfer molding

NIPAAm:

N-Isopropyl acrylamide

PAAm:

Poly(acrylic acid)

PEG:

Poly(ethylene glycol)

PNIPAAm:

Poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide)

PVA:

Poly(vinyl alcohol)

PVME:

Poly(vinyl methyl ether)

RET:

Rubber elasticity theory

UCST:

Upper critical solution temperature

UV:

Ultraviolet

VPT:

Volume phase transition

μCP:

μ-Contact printing

A:

Structure factor (RET)

B:

Volume factor (RET)

c :

Concentration

d :

Diameter of a gel cylinder

D :

Diffusion coefficient

D coop :

Cooperative diffusion coefficient

F :

Helmholtz free energy

G :

Gibbs free energy

G′ :

Storage modulus

G″ :

Loss modulus

g (1)(t):

Electric field correlation function

g (2)(t):

Intensity correlation function

m :

Mass

n :

Number of moles

M :

Molecular weight

M w :

Weight average molecular weight

p :

Pressure

Q :

Degree of swelling

Q m :

Mass degree of swelling

Q v :

Volume degree of swelling

R:

Gas constant (8.314 J K−1 mol−1)

r :

Radius

R h :

Hydrodynamic radius

T :

Temperature

t :

Decay time

\( {\overline{V}}_i \) :

Partial molar volume of component i

V i :

Molar volume of component i

〈 〉:

Time average

〈I〉 t,P :

Total time-averaged scattering intensity at a const. position

Δ:

Total change

λ :

Wavelength

μ i :

Chemical potential of component i

ρ :

Density

τ :

Time constant

υ c :

Cross-linking density (mol network chains/volume)

χ:

Huggins interaction parameter

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Acknowledgment

The authors thank M. Dziewiencki (TU Dresden) for DSC measurements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Institute of Semiconductors and Microsystems, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany

    Bernhard Ferse, Luis Pedrero & Marcus Tietze

  2. Institute of Semiconductors and Microsystems, Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Dresden University of Technology and Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden, Dresden, Germany

    Andreas Richter

Authors
  1. Bernhard Ferse
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  2. Luis Pedrero
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  3. Marcus Tietze
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  4. Andreas Richter
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bernhard Ferse .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School Engineering & Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom

    Federico Carpi

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Ferse, B., Pedrero, L., Tietze, M., Richter, A. (2016). Polymer Gels as EAPs: How to Start Experimenting with Them. In: Carpi, F. (eds) Electromechanically Active Polymers. Polymers and Polymeric Composites: A Reference Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31530-0_5

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