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Published March 3, 2021 | public
Journal Article

Swaying gel: chemo-mechanical self-oscillation based on dynamic buckling

Abstract

Self-oscillating systems are powerful tools for transducing static energy inputs into repetitive motions without the aid of external control units. The challenge in sustaining the far-from-equilibrium motion of an oscillating material is to avoid the tendency of reaching thermodynamic equilibrium or get pinned at steady states in the dynamic process. While living organisms present elegant strategies in myriad self-oscillations (e.g., peristalsis, cilia motion, homeostasis), current synthetic self-oscillating systems often rely on a fast actuation/reaction, to maintain the far-from-equilibrium motion, which prescribe highly specific chemical reactions and a material microstructure with limited stimuli and movement modes. Here, we present a dynamic buckling-based design for creating self-oscillating systems. The oscillation arises from the self-driven snap-through of a responsive hydrogel between bi-/multi-stable buckling configurations governed by a feedback loop. With broad choices of materials, tunable mechanics, and physical simplicity, this system opens a new venue for unlimited autonomous-oscillating materials applications.

Additional Information

© 2021 Elsevier Inc. Received 8 November 2020, Revised 21 December 2020, Accepted 31 December 2020, Available online 28 January 2021.

Additional details

Created:
August 22, 2023
Modified:
October 23, 2023