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Xu X, Wang Z, Li M, Su Y, Zhang Q, Zhang S, Hu J. Reconstructed Hierarchically Structured Keratin Fibers with Shape-Memory Features Based on Reversible Secondary-Structure Transformation. Adv Mater 2023; 35:e2304725. [PMID: 37417728 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202304725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Revised: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Biocompatible and biodegradable shape-memory polymers have gained popularity as smart materials, offering a wide range of applications and environmental benefits. Herein, the possibility of fabricating regenerated water-triggered shape-memory keratin fibers from wool and cellulose in a more effective and environmentally friendly manner is investigated. The regenerated keratin fibers exhibit comparable shape-memory performance to other hydration-responsive materials, with a shape-fixity ratio of 94.8 ± 2.15% and a shape-recovery rate of 81.4 ± 3.84%. Owing to their well-preserved secondary structure and cross-linking network, keratin fibers exhibit outstanding water-stability and wet stretchability, with a maximum tensile strain of 362 ± 15.9%. In this system, the reconfiguration of the protein secondary structure between α-helix and β-sheet is investigated as the fundamental actuation mechanism in response to hydration. This responsiveness is studied under force loading and unloading along the fiber axis. Hydrogen bonds act as the "switches" clicked by water molecules to trigger the shape-memory effect, while disulfide bonds and cellulose nanocrystals play the role of "net-points" to maintain the permanent shape of the material. Water-triggered shape-memory keratin fibers are manipulable and exhibit potential in the fabrication of textile actuators, which may be applied in smart apparel and programmable biomedical devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyun Xu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, 999077, China
| | - Zhuang Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, 999077, China
| | - Min Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, 999077, China
| | - Yupei Su
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, 999077, China
| | - Qi Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, 999077, China
| | - Shuai Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, 999077, China
| | - Jinlian Hu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, 999077, China
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Lee JH, Han MW. Design and Evaluation of Smart Textile Actuator with Chain Structure. Materials (Basel) 2023; 16:5517. [PMID: 37629808 PMCID: PMC10456553 DOI: 10.3390/ma16165517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Textiles composed of fibers can have their mechanical properties adjusted by changing the arrangement of the fibers, such as strength and flexibility. Particularly, in the case of smart textiles incorporating active materials, various deformations could be created based on fiber patterns that determine the directivity of active materials. In this study, we design a smart fiber-based textile actuator with a chain structure and evaluate its actuation characteristics. Smart fiber composed of shape memory alloy (SMA) generates deformation when the electric current is applied, causing the phase transformation of SMA. We fabricated the smart chain column and evaluated its actuating mechanism based on the size of the chain and the number of rows. In addition, a crochet textile actuator was designed using interlooping smart chains and developed into a soft gripper that can grab objects. With experimental verifications, this study provides an investigation of the relationship between the chain actuator's deformation, actuating force, actuator temperature, and strain. The results of this study are expected to be relevant to textile applications, wearable devices, and other technical fields that require coordination with the human body. Additionally, it is expected that it can be utilized to configure a system capable of flexible operation by combining rigid elements such as batteries and sensors with textiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ju-Hee Lee
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dongguk University, 30 Pildong-ro 1 gil, Jung-gu, Seoul 04620, Republic of Korea
| | - Min-Woo Han
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dongguk University, 30 Pildong-ro 1 gil, Jung-gu, Seoul 04620, Republic of Korea
- Department of Mechanical, Robotics and Energy Engineering, Dongguk University, 30 Pildong-ro 1 gil, Jung-gu, Seoul 04620, Republic of Korea
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Shin J, Han YJ, Lee JH, Han MW. Shape Memory Alloys in Textile Platform: Smart Textile-Composite Actuator and Its Application to Soft Grippers. Sensors (Basel) 2023; 23:1518. [PMID: 36772558 PMCID: PMC9919340 DOI: 10.3390/s23031518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, many researchers have aimed to construct robotic soft grippers that can handle fragile or unusually shaped objects without causing damage. This study proposes a smart textile-composite actuator and its application to a soft robotic gripper. An active fiber and an inactive fiber are combined together using knitting techniques to manufacture a textile actuator. The active fiber is a shape memory alloy (SMA) that is wire-wrapped with conventional fibers, and the inactive fiber is a knitting yarn. A knitted textile structure is flexible, with an excellent structure retention ability and high compliance, which is suitable for developing soft grippers. A driving source of the actuator is the SMA wire, which deforms under heating due to the shape memory effect. Through experiments, the course-to-wale ratio, the number of bundling SMA wires, and the driving current value needed to achieve the maximum deformation of the actuator were investigated. Three actuators were stitched together to make up each finger of the gripper, and layer placement research was completed to find the fingers' suitable bending angle for object grasping. Finally, the gripping performance was evaluated through a test of grasping various object shapes, which demonstrated that the gripper could successfully lift flat/spherical/uniquely shaped objects.
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Abstract
Photothermal bimorph actuators have attracted considerable attention in intelligent devices because of their cordless control and lightweight and easy preparation. However, current photothermal bimorph actuators are mostly based on films or papers driven by near-infrared sources, which are deficient in flexibility and adaptability, restricting their potential in wearable applications. Herein, a bimorph textile actuator that can be scalably fabricated with a traditional textile route and autonomously triggered by sunlight is reported. The active layer and passive layer of the bimorph are constructed by polypropylene tape and a MXene-modified polyamide filament. Because of the opposite thermal expansion and MXene-enhanced photothermal efficiency (>260%) of the bimorph, the textile actuator presents effective deformation (1.38 cm-1) under low sunlight power (100 mW/cm2). This work provides a new pathway for wearable sunlight-triggered actuators and finds attractive applications for smart textiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongtao Zhao
- Research Center for Intelligent and Wearable Technology, College of Textiles and Clothing, State Key Laboratory of Bio-Fibers and Eco-Textiles, Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-textiles of Shandong Province and the Ministry of Education, Intelligent Wearable Engineering Research Center of Qingdao, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong 266071, P.R. China
| | - Xiangjun Qi
- Research Center for Intelligent and Wearable Technology, College of Textiles and Clothing, State Key Laboratory of Bio-Fibers and Eco-Textiles, Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-textiles of Shandong Province and the Ministry of Education, Intelligent Wearable Engineering Research Center of Qingdao, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong 266071, P.R. China
| | - Yulong Ma
- Research Center for Intelligent and Wearable Technology, College of Textiles and Clothing, State Key Laboratory of Bio-Fibers and Eco-Textiles, Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-textiles of Shandong Province and the Ministry of Education, Intelligent Wearable Engineering Research Center of Qingdao, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong 266071, P.R. China
| | - Xuantong Sun
- Department of Materials, The University of Manchester, Manchester M139PL, United Kingdom
| | - Xuqing Liu
- Department of Materials, The University of Manchester, Manchester M139PL, United Kingdom
| | - Xueji Zhang
- Research Center for Intelligent and Wearable Technology, College of Textiles and Clothing, State Key Laboratory of Bio-Fibers and Eco-Textiles, Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-textiles of Shandong Province and the Ministry of Education, Intelligent Wearable Engineering Research Center of Qingdao, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong 266071, P.R. China
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, P.R. China
| | - Mingwei Tian
- Research Center for Intelligent and Wearable Technology, College of Textiles and Clothing, State Key Laboratory of Bio-Fibers and Eco-Textiles, Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-textiles of Shandong Province and the Ministry of Education, Intelligent Wearable Engineering Research Center of Qingdao, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong 266071, P.R. China
| | - Lijun Qu
- Research Center for Intelligent and Wearable Technology, College of Textiles and Clothing, State Key Laboratory of Bio-Fibers and Eco-Textiles, Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-textiles of Shandong Province and the Ministry of Education, Intelligent Wearable Engineering Research Center of Qingdao, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong 266071, P.R. China
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