Abstract
A printable hybrid hydrogel is fabricated by embedding poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) microparticles within a water-rich silica-alumina(Si/Al)-based gel matrix. The hybrid gel holds water content of up to 70 wt%, due to its unique Si/Al matrix. The hybrid hydrogel can respond to both heat and electrical stimuli, and can be directly printed layer-by-layer using a commercial 3-dimensional printer, without requiring any curing. The hybrid ink is printed onto a transparent, flexible conductive electrode composed of silver nanoparticles and sustains bending angles of up to 180°, which enables patterning of various flexible devices such as smart windows and a 3D optical waveguide valve.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 1705365 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Advanced Functional Materials |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| Early online date | 8 Jan 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 28 Feb 2018 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Zhou Yang and Michael Layani contributed equally to this work. The work was supported by the National Research Foundation, the Prime Minister's Office, and Singapore, under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) program. For correct initials, name order of several authors was changed from Chinese (surname first name) to western (first name surname) on February 28, 2018, following initial publication in early view.Keywords
- 3D printing
- hydrogels
- PNIPAm
- smart windows
- thermochromics