Self-oscillating Helical Gels with Amplified Winding and Unwinding Motions
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초록
내용
Helical structures are prevalent in nature, from DNA to microorganisms. We present a new method to synthesize helical gels by converting isotropic deformation into anisotropic, unidirectional deformation. Using photopolymerization, we introduced a 3D gradient structure into the gel network, resulting in helical poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) gels with significant axial shrinkage due to their winding motion, indicating an amplified response to stimuli. We also synthesized self-oscillating helical gels, which undergo cyclic swelling-deswelling without external switching. By incorporating ruthenium monomers with NIPAAm, these gels showed amplified uniaxial winding and unwinding during the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction, with significant length changes compared to rod gels. This study covers the synthetic strategy, structural analysis, and enhanced self-oscillation of helical gels.