title: Synchronization of Two Self-Oscillating Gels Based on Chemo-Mechanical Coupling.
abstract: Two coupled polymer gels, showing volume oscillation caused by the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction, were investigated to understand the system composed of mechanically coupled chemical oscillators. The two gels were connected with a movable plastic sheet in between and placed under constant compression. Synchronization between two identical gels occurred in a range of compression ratios. The phase difference between the two oscillating gels was not zero; instead, they showed alternate swelling-deswelling oscillations. Similar phenomena were also observed with gels of different sizes and natural oscillation periods. The experimental results suggest that a physical change in one gel can lead to a chemical change in the other and vice versa. These results were qualitatively reproduced by a mathematical model based on coupled chemical oscillators.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University , 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan.
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University , 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan.
authors.forename: Takato
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ezaki
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University , 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan.
authors.forename: Shogo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University , 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Sustainable Chemistry, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) , Tsukuba Central 5, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba 305-8565, Japan.
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University , 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakata