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Polymers
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Functional Polymers in Sensors and Actuators: Fabrication and Analysis
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Functional Polymers in Sensors and Actuators: Fabrication and Analysis

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2020) | Viewed by 47677

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Akif Kaynak

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3217, Australia
Interests: conducting polymers; sensors; actuators
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ali Zolfagharian

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, Australia
Interests: 3D printing; 4D printing; soft actuators; robotic materials; soft machines
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Functional polymers show unique physical and chemical properties, which can manifest as dynamic responses to external stimuli such as radiation, temperature, chemical reaction, external force, magnetic and electric fields. Recent advances in the fabrication techniques have enabled the production of different types of polymer sensors and actuators that can be utilized in a wide range of potential applications in smart structures and systems.

This Special Issue aims to focus on the recent advancements in the modeling and analysis of functional polymer systems and will consider relevant research papers and review articles for publication.

Dr. Akif Kaynak
Dr. Ali Zolfagharian
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

  • 3D-printed polymer systems, structures, sensors, and actuators
  • Modeling, analysis, and control of polymer systems, sensors, and actuators
  • Shape memory polymers, hydrogels, polyelectrolytes, elastomers, and silicones
  • Ionic polymers, conductive polymers, batteries, and electrochemical transistors

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

3 pages, 161 KiB  
Editorial
Functional Polymers in Sensors and Actuators: Fabrication and Analysis
by Akif Kaynak and Ali Zolfagharian
Polymers 2020, 12(7), 1569; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12071569 - 15 Jul 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2285
Abstract
Recent advances in fabrication techniques have enabled the production of different types of polymer sensors and actuators that can be utilized in a wide range of applications, such as soft robotics, biomedical, smart textiles and energy harvesting [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Polymers in Sensors and Actuators: Fabrication and Analysis)

Research

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15 pages, 22792 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Mussel-Inspired Chitin Nanocomposite Hydrogels for Wearable Strain Sensors
by Pejman Heidarian, Abbas Z. Kouzani, Akif Kaynak, Ali Zolfagharian and Hossein Yousefi
Polymers 2020, 12(6), 1416; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12061416 - 24 Jun 2020
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4067
Abstract
It is an ongoing challenge to fabricate an electroconductive and tough hydrogel with autonomous self-healing and self-recovery (SELF) for wearable strain sensors. Current electroconductive hydrogels often show a trade-off between static crosslinks for mechanical strength and dynamic crosslinks for SELF properties. In this [...] Read more.
It is an ongoing challenge to fabricate an electroconductive and tough hydrogel with autonomous self-healing and self-recovery (SELF) for wearable strain sensors. Current electroconductive hydrogels often show a trade-off between static crosslinks for mechanical strength and dynamic crosslinks for SELF properties. In this work, a facile procedure was developed to synthesize a dynamic electroconductive hydrogel with excellent SELF and mechanical properties from starch/polyacrylic acid (St/PAA) by simply loading ferric ions (Fe3+) and tannic acid-coated chitin nanofibers (TA-ChNFs) into the hydrogel network. Based on our findings, the highest toughness was observed for the 1 wt.% TA-ChNF-reinforced hydrogel (1.43 MJ/m3), which is 10.5-fold higher than the unreinforced counterpart. Moreover, the 1 wt.% TA-ChNF-reinforced hydrogel showed the highest resistance against crack propagation and a 96.5% healing efficiency after 40 min. Therefore, it was chosen as the optimized hydrogel to pursue the remaining experiments. Due to its unique SELF performance, network stability, superior mechanical, and self-adhesiveness properties, this hydrogel demonstrates potential for applications in self-wearable strain sensors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Polymers in Sensors and Actuators: Fabrication and Analysis)
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19 pages, 10631 KiB  
Article
Shape-Adaptive Metastructures with Variable Bandgap Regions by 4D Printing
by Reza Noroozi, Mahdi Bodaghi, Hamid Jafari, Ali Zolfagharian and Mohammad Fotouhi
Polymers 2020, 12(3), 519; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12030519 - 01 Mar 2020
Cited by 93 | Viewed by 8034
Abstract
This article shows how four-dimensional (4D) printing technology can engineer adaptive metastructures that exploit resonating self-bending elements to filter vibrational and acoustic noises and change filtering ranges. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is implemented to fabricate temperature-responsive shape-memory polymer (SMP) elements with self-bending features. [...] Read more.
This article shows how four-dimensional (4D) printing technology can engineer adaptive metastructures that exploit resonating self-bending elements to filter vibrational and acoustic noises and change filtering ranges. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is implemented to fabricate temperature-responsive shape-memory polymer (SMP) elements with self-bending features. Experiments are conducted to reveal how the speed of the 4D printer head can affect functionally graded prestrain regime, shape recovery and self-bending characteristics of the active elements. A 3D constitutive model, along with an in-house finite element (FE) method, is developed to replicate the shape recovery and self-bending of SMP beams 4D-printed at different speeds. Furthermore, a simple approach of prestrain modeling is introduced into the commercial FE software package to simulate material tailoring and self-bending mechanism. The accuracy of the straightforward FE approach is validated against experimental observations and computational results from the in-house FE MATLAB-based code. Two periodic architected temperature-sensitive metastructures with adaptive dynamical characteristics are proposed to use bandgap engineering to forbid specific frequencies from propagating through the material. The developed computational tool is finally implemented to numerically examine how bandgap size and frequency range can be controlled and broadened. It is found out that the size and frequency range of the bandgaps are linked to changes in the geometry of self-bending elements printed at different speeds. This research is likely to advance the state-of-the-art 4D printing and unlock potentials in the design of functional metastructures for a broad range of applications in acoustic and structural engineering, including sound wave filters and waveguides. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Polymers in Sensors and Actuators: Fabrication and Analysis)
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21 pages, 1171 KiB  
Article
A Multi-Parameter Perturbation Solution and Experimental Verification for Bending Problem of Piezoelectric Cantilever Beams
by Zhi-Xin Yang, Xiao-Ting He, Hong-Xia Jing and Jun-Yi Sun
Polymers 2019, 11(12), 1934; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11121934 - 24 Nov 2019
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2576
Abstract
The existing studies indicate that the application of piezoelectric polymers is becoming more and more extensive, especially in the analysis and design of sensors or actuators, but the problems of piezoelectric structure are usually difficult to solve analytically due to the force–electric coupling [...] Read more.
The existing studies indicate that the application of piezoelectric polymers is becoming more and more extensive, especially in the analysis and design of sensors or actuators, but the problems of piezoelectric structure are usually difficult to solve analytically due to the force–electric coupling characteristics. In this study, the bending problem of a piezoelectric cantilever beam was investigated via theoretical and experimental methods. First, the governing equations of the problem were established and non-dimensionalized. Three piezoelectric parameters were selected as perturbation parameters and the perturbation solution of the equations was finally obtained using a multi-parameter perturbation method. In addition, the relevant experiments of the piezoelectric cantilever beam were carried out, and the experimental results were in good agreement with the theoretical solutions. Based on the experimental results, the effect of piezoelectric properties on the bending deformation of piezoelectric cantilever beams was analyzed and discussed. The results indicated that the multi-parameter perturbation solution obtained in this study is effective and it may serve as a theoretical reference for the design of sensors or actuators made of piezoelectric polymers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Polymers in Sensors and Actuators: Fabrication and Analysis)
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15 pages, 4059 KiB  
Article
Ultrasensitive Wearable Strain Sensors of 3D Printing Tough and Conductive Hydrogels
by Jilong Wang, Yan Liu, Siheng Su, Junhua Wei, Syed Ehsanur Rahman, Fuda Ning, Gordon Christopher, Weilong Cong and Jingjing Qiu
Polymers 2019, 11(11), 1873; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11111873 - 13 Nov 2019
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 4614
Abstract
In this study, tough and conductive hydrogels were printed by 3D printing method. The combination of thermo-responsive agar and ionic-responsive alginate can highly improve the shape fidelity. With addition of agar, ink viscosity was enhanced, further improving its rheological characteristics for a precise [...] Read more.
In this study, tough and conductive hydrogels were printed by 3D printing method. The combination of thermo-responsive agar and ionic-responsive alginate can highly improve the shape fidelity. With addition of agar, ink viscosity was enhanced, further improving its rheological characteristics for a precise printing. After printing, the printed construct was cured via free radical polymerization, and alginate was crosslinked by calcium ions. Most importantly, with calcium crosslinking of alginate, mechanical properties of 3D printed hydrogels are greatly improved. Furthermore, these 3D printed hydrogels can serve as ionic conductors, because hydrogels contain large amounts of water that dissolve excess calcium ions. A wearable resistive strain sensor that can quickly and precisely detect human motions like finger bending was fabricated by a 3D printed hydrogel film. These results demonstrate that the conductive, transparent, and stretchable hydrogels are promising candidates as soft wearable electronics for healthcare, robotics and entertainment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Polymers in Sensors and Actuators: Fabrication and Analysis)
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17 pages, 6034 KiB  
Article
High Electromechanical Deformation Based on Structural Beta-Phase Content and Electrostrictive Properties of Electrospun Poly(vinylidene fluoride- hexafluoropropylene) Nanofibers
by Nikruesong Tohluebaji, Chatchai Putson and Nantakan Muensit
Polymers 2019, 11(11), 1817; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11111817 - 05 Nov 2019
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 3797
Abstract
The poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-HFP)) polymer based on electrostrictive polymers is essential in smart materials applications such as actuators, transducers, microelectromechanical systems, storage memory devices, energy harvesting, and biomedical sensors. The key factors for increasing the capability of electrostrictive materials are stronger dielectric properties [...] Read more.
The poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-HFP)) polymer based on electrostrictive polymers is essential in smart materials applications such as actuators, transducers, microelectromechanical systems, storage memory devices, energy harvesting, and biomedical sensors. The key factors for increasing the capability of electrostrictive materials are stronger dielectric properties and an increased electroactive β-phase and crystallinity of the material. In this work, the dielectric properties and microstructural β-phase in the P(VDF-HFP) polymer were improved by electrospinning conditions and thermal compression. The P(VDF-HFP) fibers from the single-step electrospinning process had a self-induced orientation and electrical poling which increased both the electroactive β-crystal phase and the spontaneous dipolar orientation simultaneously. Moreover, the P(VDF-HFP) fibers from the combined electrospinning and thermal compression achieved significantly enhanced dielectric properties and microstructural β-phase. Thermal compression clearly induced interfacial polarization by the accumulation of interfacial surface charges among two β-phase regions in the P(VDF-HFP) fibers. The grain boundaries of nanofibers frequently have high interfacial polarization, as they can trap charges migrating in an applied field. This work showed that the combination of electrospinning and thermal compression for electrostrictive P(VDF-HFP) polymers can potentially offer improved electrostriction behavior based on the dielectric permittivity and interfacial surface charge distributions for application in actuator devices, textile sensors, and nanogenerators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Polymers in Sensors and Actuators: Fabrication and Analysis)
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14 pages, 3214 KiB  
Article
Hardware and Software Development for Isotonic Strain and Isometric Stress Measurements of Linear Ionic Actuators
by Madis Harjo, Tarmo Tamm, Gholamreza Anbarjafari and Rudolf Kiefer
Polymers 2019, 11(6), 1054; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11061054 - 17 Jun 2019
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3179
Abstract
An inseparable part of ionic actuator characterization is a set of adequate measurement devices. Due to significant limitations of available commercial systems, in-house setups are often employed. The main objective of this work was to develop a software solution for running isotonic and [...] Read more.
An inseparable part of ionic actuator characterization is a set of adequate measurement devices. Due to significant limitations of available commercial systems, in-house setups are often employed. The main objective of this work was to develop a software solution for running isotonic and isometric experiments on a hardware setup consisting of a potentiostat, a linear displacement actuator, a force sensor, and a voltmeter for measuring the force signal. A set of functions, hardware drivers, and measurement automation algorithms were developed in the National Instruments LabVIEW 2015 system. The result is a software called isotonic (displacement) and isometric (force) electro-chemo-measurement software (IIECMS), that enables the user to control isotonic and isometric experiments over a single compact graphical user interface. The linear ionic actuators chosen as sample systems included different materials with different force and displacement characteristics, namely free-standing polypyrrole films doped with dodecylbenzene sulfonate (PPy/DBS) and multiwall carbon nanotube/carbide-derived carbon (MWCNT-CDC) fibers. The developed software was thoroughly tested with numerous test samples of linear ionic actuators, meaning over 200 h of experimenting time where over 90% of the time the software handled the experiment process autonomously. The uncertainty of isotonic measurements was estimated to be 0.6 µm (0.06%). With the integrated correction algorithms, samples with as low as 0 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) can be adequately described. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Polymers in Sensors and Actuators: Fabrication and Analysis)
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9 pages, 2354 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Stability and Driving Performance of GO–Ag-NW-based Ionic Electroactive Polymer Actuators with Triton X-100-PEDOT:PSS Nanofibrils
by Minjeong Park, Seokju Yoo, Yunkyeong Bae, Seonpil Kim and Minhyon Jeon
Polymers 2019, 11(5), 906; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11050906 - 19 May 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4019
Abstract
Ionic electroactive polymers (IEAPs) have received considerable attention for their flexibility, lightweight composition, large displacement, and low-voltage activation. Recently, many metal–nonmetal composite electrodes have been actively studied. Specifically, graphene oxide–silver nanowire (GO–Ag NW) composite electrodes offer advantages among IEAPs with metal–nonmetal composite electrodes. [...] Read more.
Ionic electroactive polymers (IEAPs) have received considerable attention for their flexibility, lightweight composition, large displacement, and low-voltage activation. Recently, many metal–nonmetal composite electrodes have been actively studied. Specifically, graphene oxide–silver nanowire (GO–Ag NW) composite electrodes offer advantages among IEAPs with metal–nonmetal composite electrodes. However, GO–Ag NW composite electrodes still show a decrease in displacement owing to low stability and durability during driving. Therefore, the durability and stability of the IEAPs with metal–nonmetal composite electrodes must be improved. One way to improve the device durability is coating the electrode surface with a protective layer. This layer must have enough flexibility and suitable electrical properties such that it does not hinder the IEAPs’ driving. Herein, a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)–poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) protective layer and 4-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)phenyl-polyethylene glycol (Triton X-100) are applied to improve driving performance. Triton X-100 is a nonionic surfactant that transforms the PEDOT:PSS capsule into a nanofibril structure. In this study, a mixed Triton X-100/PEDOT:PSS protective layer at an optimum weight ratio was coated onto the GO–Ag NW composite-electrode-based IEAPs under various conditions. The IEAP actuators based on GO–Ag NW composite electrodes with a protective layer of PEDOT:PSS treated with Triton X-100 showed the best stability and durability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Polymers in Sensors and Actuators: Fabrication and Analysis)
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14 pages, 7089 KiB  
Article
Ultrathin Photonic Polymer Gel Films Templated by Non-Close-Packed Monolayer Colloidal Crystals to Enhance Colorimetric Sensing
by Shimo Yu, Shun Dong, Xiuling Jiao, Cheng Li and Dairong Chen
Polymers 2019, 11(3), 534; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11030534 - 21 Mar 2019
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4009
Abstract
Responsive polymer-based sensors have attracted considerable attention due to their ability to detect the presence of analytes and convert the detected signal into a physical and/or chemical change. High responsiveness, fast response speed, good linearity, strong stability, and small hysteresis are ideal, but [...] Read more.
Responsive polymer-based sensors have attracted considerable attention due to their ability to detect the presence of analytes and convert the detected signal into a physical and/or chemical change. High responsiveness, fast response speed, good linearity, strong stability, and small hysteresis are ideal, but to gain these properties at the same time remains challenging. This paper presents a facile and efficient method to improve the photonic sensing properties of polymeric gels by using non-close-packed monolayer colloidal crystals (ncp MCCs) as the template. Poly-(2-vinyl pyridine) (P2VP), a weak electrolyte, was selected to form the pH-responsive gel material, which was deposited onto ncp MCCs obtained by controlled O2 plasma etching of close-packed (cp) MCCs. The resultant ultrathin photonic polymer gel film (UPPGF) exhibited significant improvement in responsiveness and linearity towards pH sensing compared to those prepared using cp MCCs template, achieving fast visualized monitoring of pH changes with excellent cyclic stability and small hysteresis loop. The responsiveness and linearity were found to depend on the volume and filling fraction of the polymer gel. Based on a simple geometric model, we established that the volume increased first and then decreased with the decrease of template size, but the filling fraction increased all the time, which was verified by microscopy observations. Therefore, the responsiveness and linearity of UPPGF to pH can be improved by simply adjusting the etching time of oxygen plasma. The well-designed UPPGF is reliable for visualized monitoring of analytes and their concentrations, and can easily be combined in sensor arrays for more accurate detection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Polymers in Sensors and Actuators: Fabrication and Analysis)
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Review

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21 pages, 5033 KiB  
Review
Polymer-Based MEMS Electromagnetic Actuator for Biomedical Application: A Review
by Jumril Yunas, Budi Mulyanti, Ida Hamidah, Muzalifah Mohd Said, Roer Eka Pawinanto, Wan Amar Fikri Wan Ali, Ayub Subandi, Azrul Azlan Hamzah, Rhonira Latif and Burhanuddin Yeop Majlis
Polymers 2020, 12(5), 1184; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12051184 - 22 May 2020
Cited by 69 | Viewed by 10058
Abstract
In this study, we present a comprehensive review of polymer-based microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) electromagnetic (EM) actuators and their implementation in the biomedical engineering field. The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive summary on the latest development of electromagnetically driven microactuators [...] Read more.
In this study, we present a comprehensive review of polymer-based microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) electromagnetic (EM) actuators and their implementation in the biomedical engineering field. The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive summary on the latest development of electromagnetically driven microactuators for biomedical application that is focused on the movable structure development made of polymers. The discussion does not only focus on the polymeric material part itself, but also covers the basic mechanism of the mechanical actuation, the state of the art of the membrane development and its application. In this review, a clear description about the scheme used to drive the micro-actuators, the concept of mechanical deformation of the movable magnetic membrane and its interaction with actuator system are described in detail. Some comparisons are made to scrutinize the advantages and disadvantages of electromagnetic MEMS actuator performance. The previous studies and explanations on the technology used to fabricate the polymer-based membrane component of the electromagnetically driven microactuators system are presented. The study on the materials and the synthesis method implemented during the fabrication process for the development of the actuators are also briefly described in this review. Furthermore, potential applications of polymer-based MEMS EM actuators in the biomedical field are also described. It is concluded that much progress has been made in the material development of the actuator. The technology trend has moved from the use of bulk magnetic material to using magnetic polymer composites. The future benefits of these compact flexible material employments will offer a wide range of potential implementation of polymer composites in wearable and portable biomedical device applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Polymers in Sensors and Actuators: Fabrication and Analysis)
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