Peristaltic motion of polymer gels

Shingo Maeda, Yusuke Hara, Ryo Yoshida, Shuji Hashimoto

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

131 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

It's alive! A polymer gel has been developed that can generate a peristaltic motion without external stimuli. The motion is produced by dissipating the chemical energy of an oscillating reaction that occurs inside the gel. Although the gel is solely composed of a synthetic polymer, it shows independent motion as if it were alive. The motion of the gel can be harnessed to transport objects with millimeter dimensions (see picture). (Figure Presented).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)6690-6693
Number of pages4
JournalAngewandte Chemie - International Edition
Volume47
Issue number35
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008 Aug 18
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Autonomous systems
  • Gels
  • Oscillating reactions
  • Phase separation
  • Polymerization

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • Chemistry(all)

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