基于液晶弹性体的软体机器人

作为热门的机器人研究方向,软体机器人通常由软材料制成,具有众多的自由度、能够承受大变形、连续变形和柔顺接触等优势,在微小物体操作和空间受限环境运动等特殊应用领域具有重要的研究价值。其中,液晶弹性体,作为一种最具代表性的智能材料,同时具有液晶各向异性和橡胶弹性,在外界刺激(热、光、电、磁、pH、湿度等)下,其相态或分子结构会产生变化,进而改变液晶基元的排列顺序,从而导致材料本身发生宏观形变,当撤去外界刺激后,液晶弹性体可以恢复到原来的形状。这种独特的双向形状记忆性能使液晶弹性体成为制备软体机器人最适宜的材料之一。目前,根据驱动方式的不同,液晶弹性体软体机器人的研究主要分为热驱动软体机器人、光驱动软体机器人、电驱动软体机器人及其他驱动类型软体机器人,如磁场驱动和湿度驱动液晶弹性体软体机器人等。本文综述了液晶弹性体软体机器人的研究进展,详细介绍了不同驱动方式的液晶弹性体软体机器人体系,并对液晶弹性体软体机器人的发展前景进行了展望。     

活性人工游泳体的螺旋运动

螺旋运动轨迹在自然界的各个尺度中普遍存在，其影响着多种生命过程包括生物繁殖、觅食、定位有利环境和检测营养梯度等。开发化学力等驱动螺旋运动的人工游泳体不仅具有广泛的应用价值以及提升我们对生物游泳体运动规律和机理的认识，同时推动新型机器人运动设计和提高机器人的运动效率。本文首先总结了人工系统中以微生物鞭毛/纤毛的旋转和拍打等方式为灵感来源设计的可进行螺旋运动的人工游泳体，然后综述了近年来在材料化学领域制备的进行螺旋运动小型人工游泳体的研究进展，并根据驱动力来源的不同对各种类型活性人工游泳体进行分类介绍，最后提出了目前研究中待解决的问题并对未来发展和研究方向进行了展望。     

软铋矿基微纳米材料的设计合成及其在光催化中的应用

软铋矿基光催化材料以其独特的晶体结构、电子结构以及显著的可见光吸收能力吸引着研究者们浓厚的兴趣,然而,该材料由于自身结构及功能缺陷,如光生载流子极易复合、量子产量低、有限的活性位点、活性晶面暴露不足等,导致其光催化活性和稳定性仍有待提高。因此,如何在微纳尺度上对软铋矿基光催化剂进行结构设计和功能整合,进而实现光催化活性和稳定性的优化调变,仍是一个亟待解决的关键科学问题。本文主要综述了软铋矿基微纳米材料的合成策略及其在光催化领域的最新研究进展,重点就软铋矿基光催化材料的形貌调控、贵金属负载、半导体/石墨烯耦合、离子掺杂、新型软铋矿基光催化体系的开发等方面进行总结;同时对软铋矿材料在光催化领域的应用进行了探讨;最后对此类光催化材料今后的研究前景进行了展望。     

软物质非平衡体系的挑战和机遇

总结了国家自然科学基金委员会化学科学部组织召开的“软物质非平衡体系的挑战和机遇”学科发展战略高层论坛学术交流内容.首先概述了软物质非平衡体系的主要物理化学特点,随后阐述了其在国际学术前沿所面临的重要挑战,最后介绍了当前我国在化学、物理和数学等基础研究领域所取得的相关研究进展及一些创新性交叉研究成果,探讨了如何面向生命科学和材料科学未来的发展方向,更好地发挥化学、物理和数学等基础学科交叉集成的引领作用.同时,为了满足我国国民经济发展所面临的重大技术需求,凝练了软物质非平衡体系研究领域未来5～10年的关键科学问题,提出了加强科学基金资助的战略性建议.     

纤维型人工肌肉的研究进展

近年来,随着人工智能领域的不断发展,柔性机器人开始兴起.为了满足人们对人机交互和环境适应性的新要求,柔性驱动器作为柔性机器人的关键部件受到了广泛的关注.人工肌肉作为最常见的柔性驱动器之一,它对外界刺激反应迅速,并且能够响应刺激产生旋转,收缩和伸长等运动.在各种人工肌肉中,纤维型人工肌肉以其优异的驱动性能和广阔的应用前景...     

多级孔ZSM-5分子筛的制备及其在炼油领域中的应用

多级孔ZSM-5分子筛结合了微孔分子筛可调变的酸性、良好的水热稳定性以及介孔材料优异的传质扩散性能,在催化领域有着广阔的应用前景.我们综述了近年来多级孔ZSM-5分子筛的研究进展,重点概述了多级孔ZSM-5分子筛的不同制备方法,包括后处理法、硬模板法和软模板法等,同时介绍了多级孔ZSM-5分子筛在炼油领域的应用研究,并在上述基础上对多级孔ZSM-5分子筛的研究趋势进行了展望.     

响应性交联液晶高分子仿生致动器的研究进展

交联液晶高分子兼具液晶取向有序性和交联聚合物熵弹性等特点,能够以动态可调节和可逆的方式来模仿生物体的行为,在仿生器件、柔性机器人、智能表面、生物医药等领域具有良好的应用前景.本综述总结了近几年智能响应性交联液晶高分子在仿生致动器方面的研究进展,从响应性交联液晶高分子的结构和驱动机理出发,讨论了响应性交联液晶高分子的合成工艺、制备技术和成型方法,以及响应性交联液晶高分子对光、热、磁、湿度的响应.此外,介绍了响应性交联液晶高分子致动器在柔性机器人、人工肌肉、微流体运输等领域的应用.最后,对响应性交联液晶高分子的发展前景进行了展望.这项工作主要讨论了响应性交联液晶高分子,旨在为具有新颖功能和更有挑战性的智能微型致动器提供新的设计思路.     

聚合物离子凝胶的研究进展

聚合物离子凝胶由聚合物网络封装离子液体而构成,通过调节离子液体和聚合物网络的特性,使其不仅具有高离子电导率、不可燃性和热、化学和电化学稳定性,而且具有高柔韧性和力学性能,近年来在离子皮肤、软机器人和柔性可穿戴系统等领域发展迅速。本文对近三年来聚合物基离子凝胶的结构设计特点、性能特性及其发展现状进行综述,分析和评述了聚合物结构对离子凝胶功能的影响机制,并对聚合物离子凝胶的未来发展进行了展望。     

利用软模板法合成中空纳米结构的研究进展

中空纳米材料具有高负载、低密度、和比表面积大等特点,有着广泛应用。软模板合成中空纳米结构具有简单易行和结构可控等优点。目前,采用最多的软模板主要有微乳液、胶束/囊泡模板和气泡软模板,通过静电吸附、氢键和界面反应等方法使纳米粒子沉积在模板表面便可得到中空结构。本文总结并展望了利用软模板法合成中空纳米结构的研究进展。     

电活性聚合物柔性智能驱动材料的建模、控制及应用综述

随着电活性聚合物(EAP)在仿生机器人、柔性传感器、能源等领域的广泛应用,对其研究也日益深入。本文对EAP智能驱动材料建模、控制及应用方面的研究进展进行了系统性的梳理,为后续材料应用奠定基础。首先,对EAP材料的分类和电致动原理进行了概述,然后整理了EAP驱动材料模型建立以及控制器设计,最后归纳了EAP在材料性能、智能结构设计、系统建模和运动控制策略方面存在的研究难题,并展望了未来的研究方向。     

Springtail-inspired Light-driven Soft Jumping Robots Based on Liquid Crystal Elastomers with Monolithic Three-leaf Panel Fold Structure

Jump is an important form of motion that enables animals to escape from predators, increase their range of activities, and better adapt to the environment. Inspired by springtails, we describe a light-driven soft jumping robot based on a double-folded liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) ribbon actuator with a monolithic three-leaf panel fold structure. This robot can achieve remarkable jumping height, jumping distance, and maximum take-off velocity, of up to 87 body length (BL), 65 BL, and 930 BL s⁻¹, respectively, under near-infrared light irradiation. Further, it is possible to control the height, distance, and direction of jump by changing the size and crease angle of the double-folded LCE ribbon actuators. These robots can efficiently jump over obstacles and can jump continuously, even in complex environments. Our simple design strategy improves the performance of jumping actuators and we expect it to have a wide-ranging impact on the strength, continuity, and adaptability of future soft robots.     

Modeling and understanding locomotion of pneumatic soft robots

Imitating natural locomotion of biological systems (soft-bodied animals) opens the door to the development of a new class of machine, referring to soft robots. A variety of soft robots have been demonstrated by researchers and engineers through incorporating soft technologies into their designs. Yet computer modeling of locomotion of soft robots remains to be a challenging task, not merely because their intrinsic deformation is continuous, complex, and highly nonlinear compared to conventional rigid-bodied robots, but moreover because of the complicated contact problems encountered during locomotion of soft robotics. Herein, we present a combined analytical and numerical analysis of the locomotion of pneumatic network-based soft robots. Concerning a quadruped robot, two fundamental different gaits (undulation and crawling) were identified and numerically validated by two driving modes of pneumatic robots. Extracting ground reaction forces and centroid trajectory from the simulation throws a light on the underlying mechanism of locomotion of soft robots. Our efforts would enhance the understanding and facilitate the control, manipulation, and trajectory optimization of bio-inspired soft robots.     

Manipulation of Biomolecule‐Modified Liquid‐Metal Blobs

Soft and deformable liquid metals (LMs) are building components in various systems related to uncertain and dynamic task environments. Herein we describe the development of a biomolecule‐triggered external‐manipulation method involving LM conjugates for the construction of future innovative soft robotics operating in physiological environments. Functional soft hybrids composed of a liquid‐metal droplet, a thiolated ligand, and proteins were synthesized for the expression of diverse macroscopic commands, such as attachment to cells, binary fusion, and self‐propelled movement through molecular recognition and enzymatic reactions. Our technology could be used to create new state‐of‐the‐art soft robots for chemical and biomedical engineering applications.     

分子印迹液相色谱整体柱

分子印迹是合成预定选择性固定相的新兴技术,整体柱是新型的色谱固定相技术。将分子印迹聚合物与整体柱技术相结合,可以有效提高液相色谱的分离效率,有助于推动整个分离科学的发展,意义重大,是当今分析化学的研究热点。本文就分子印迹液相色谱整体柱的制备合成、色谱分离条件以及物理化学特性评价方法等方面的研究进展进行了较系统的综述,并对该技术目前存在的问题和发展前景进行了探讨。     

Surface modification of liquid metal as an effective approach for deformable electronics and energy devices

The fields of flexible or stretchable electronics and energy devices, reconfigurable and compliant soft robotics, wearable e-textiles or health-care devices have paid significant attention to the need of deformable conductive electrodes due to its critical role in device performances. Gallium-based liquid metals, such as the eutectic gallium–indium (EGaIn) being an electrically conductive liquid phase at room temperature, have attracted immense interests as a promising candidate for deformable conductor. However, in the case of bulk liquid metal, there are several limitations such as the need of encapsulation, dispersion in a polymer matrix, or accurate patterning. For these reasons, the preparation of liquid metal particles in harnessing the properties in a non-bulk form and surface modification is crucial for the success of incorporating liquid metal into functional devices. Herein, we discuss the current progress in chemical surface modification and interfacial manipulations of liquid metal particles. The physical and chemical properties of the surface modification-assisted liquid metal polymer composite are also reviewed. Lastly, the applications of the surface-modified liquid metal particles such as flexible electrode, soft robotics, energy storage or harvester, thermal conductor, dielectric sensor, and bioelectronics are discussed, and the corresponding perspectives of deformable electronics and energy devices are provided. In particular, we focus on the functionalization method or requirement of liquid metal particles in each application. The challenging issues and outlook on the applications of surface-modified liquid metal particles are also discussed.

In this review, we summarize the recent progress in chemical surface modification and interfacial manipulations of liquid metal particles and discuss the modification method or requirement of liquid metal particles in emerging applications.     

Super‐Soft and Super‐Elastic DNA Robot with Magnetically Driven Navigational Locomotion for Cell Delivery in Confined Space

Soft organisms such as earthworms can access confined, narrow spaces, inspiring scientists to fabricate soft robots for in vivo manipulation of cells or tissues and minimally invasive surgery. We report a super‐soft and super‐elastic magnetic DNA hydrogel‐based soft robot (DNA robot), which presents a shape‐adaptive property and enables magnetically driven navigational locomotion in confined and unstructured space. The DNA hydrogel is designed with a combinational dynamic and permanent crosslinking network through chain entanglement and DNA hybridization, resulting in shear‐thinning and cyclic strain properties. DNA robot completes a series of complex magnetically driven navigational locomotion such as passing through narrow channels and pipes, entering grooves and itinerating in a maze by adapting and recovering its shape. DNA robot successfully works as a vehicle to deliver cells in confined space by virtue of the 3D porous networked structure and great biocompatibility.     

Super-Soft and Super-Elastic DNA Robot with Magnetically Driven Navigational Locomotion for Cell Delivery in Confined Space

Soft organisms such as earthworms can access confined, narrow spaces, inspiring scientists to fabricate soft robots for in vivo manipulation of cells or tissues and minimally invasive surgery. We report a super-soft and super-elastic magnetic DNA hydrogel-based soft robot (DNA robot), which presents a shape-adaptive property and enables magnetically driven navigational locomotion in confined and unstructured space. The DNA hydrogel is designed with a combinational dynamic and permanent crosslinking network through chain entanglement and DNA hybridization, resulting in shear-thinning and cyclic strain properties. DNA robot completes a series of complex magnetically driven navigational locomotion such as passing through narrow channels and pipes, entering grooves and itinerating in a maze by adapting and recovering its shape. DNA robot successfully works as a vehicle to deliver cells in confined space by virtue of the 3D porous networked structure and great biocompatibility.     

Molecular simulation of liquid crystals: progress towards a better understanding of bulk structure and the prediction of material properties

This tutorial review covers recent progress in the field of computer simulation of liquid crystals. The development of the main "molecular-based" models for liquid crystals is described. These include lattice models, coarse-grained single site models based on hard and soft interaction potentials, atomistic models and multi-site coarse-grained models. A brief historical review is followed by an assessment of some of the new areas in this field, with an emphasis on understanding of molecular structure in liquid crystal phases and the prediction of bulk material properties. The article also looks to link the field of liquid crystal simulation with important developments in areas such as polymer simulation, lyotropic liquid crystals and model membranes.     

Evaluation of the Use of A Laboratory Robot in a Study of Esterification Kinetics

Abstract

While the use of robots in routine quality-control and sample-preparation procedures is well established, their use in the research laboratory has not received as much attention. In order to evaluate the performance of laboratory robots in investigating problems that are non-routine and slightly more difficult, a Zymate-I robot was adapted to investigate the kinetics of two well-characterized reactions. The problems encountered and the need for verification devices in laboratory robotics are discussed.