title: Responsive Polymers as Sensors, Muscles, and Self-Healing Materials.
abstract: Responsive polymer-based materials can adapt to their surrounding environment by expanding and shrinking. This swelling and shrinking (mechanotransduction) can result in a number of functions. For example, the response can be used to lift masses, move objects, and can be used for sensing certain species in a system. Furthermore, responsive polymers can also yield materials capable of self-healing any damage affecting their mechanical properties. In this chapter we detail many examples of how mechanical responses can be triggered by external electric and/or magnetic fields, hygroscopicity, pH, temperature, and many other stimuli. We highlight how the specific responses can be used for artificial muscles, self-healing materials, and sensors, with particular focus on detailing the polymer response yielding desired effects.
authors: Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2G2.
authors: Qiang Matthew
authors: QM
authors: Zhang
authors: Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2G2. michael.serpe@ualberta.ca.
authors: Michael J
authors: MJ
authors: Serpe
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009132:Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D011108:Polymers / Q000378:metabolism*; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers
keywords: Artificial muscles; Mechanochemistry; Responsive polymers; Self-healing materials; Sensors