Abstract
A novel gel undergoes the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction in strong-acid-free conditions. Under such conditions, the gel can switch the BZ reaction on or off in conventional self-oscillating gels that undergo self-oscillation only in aqueous solutions with strong acids, such as HNO3 or H2SO4. The self-oscillation of the polymer chain can be controlled by varying the temperature, owing to its thermoresponsive property. Moreover, the polymer chain undergoes viscosity self-oscillations in strong-acid-free conditions. In this review, the direct observation of self-oscillations in polymer chains attached to glass or gold surfaces, by using scanning probe microscopy and quartz crystal microbalances with dissipation monitoring, is discussed.
Highlights
Electroactive polymers (EAPs) are materials that change their shape when an external electric input is switched on or off
This review demonstrates that novel gels can control the on/off switching of the BZ reaction in the conventional self-oscillating gel in strong-acid-free conditions
The self-oscillation of the AMPS-containing polymer chain can be controlled by changing the external temperature
Summary
Electroactive polymers (EAPs) are materials that change their shape when an external electric input is switched on or off. The self-oscillating polymer system covalently bonded to the metal catalyst undergoes autonomous volume changes induced by the BZ reaction, owing to periodic changes in the solubility of the metal catalyst moiety. To reduce the safety risks in such processes, Hara et al attempted to devise an autonomous polymer system that underwent self-oscillation under strong-acid-free conditions. As the first step towards achieving a self-oscillating polymer system, acrylamide-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMPS) was incorporated into a conventional self-oscillating polymer chain (poly(NIPAAm-co-Ru(bpy)3)) as a pH control site [24,25]. The AMPS-containing self-oscillating polymer chain underwent the soluble-insoluble self-oscillation under strong-acid-free conditions. This review discusses a novel gel that undergoes the BZ reaction under strong-acid-free conditions [28]. Under strong-acid-free conditions, the novel gel can control the on/off switching of the BZ reaction in conventional self-oscillating (poly(NIPAAm-co-Ru(bpy)3-co-AMPS) gels that require a strong acid. Information about the detailed motion of the self-oscillating polymer chain is of great significance for the design of autonomous molecular robot systems; techniques for the direct observation of self-oscillating polymer chains, such as scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) [34,35] are introduced
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