Muhammad Yasar Razzaq

Multifunctional shape-memory polymers.

The thermally-induced shape-memory effect (SME) is the capability of a material to change its shape in a predefined way in response to heat. In shape-memory polymers (SMP) this shape change is the entropy-driven recovery of a mechanical deformation, which was obtained before by application of external stress and was temporarily fixed by formation of physical crosslinks. The high technological significance of SMP becomes apparent in many established products (e.g., packaging materials, assembling devices, textiles, and membranes) and the broad SMP development activities in the field of biomedical as well as aerospace applications (e.g., medical devices or morphing structures for aerospace vehicles). Inspired by the complex and diverse requirements of these applications fundamental research is aiming at multifunctional SMP, in which SME is combined with additional functions and is proceeding rapidly. In this review different concepts for the creation of multifunctionality are derived from the various polymer network architectures of thermally-induced SMP. Multimaterial systems, such as nanocomposites, are described as well as one-component polymer systems, in which independent functions are integrated. Future challenges will be to transfer the concept of multifunctionality to other emerging shape-memory technologies like light-sensitive SMP, reversible shape changing effects or triple-shape polymers.

Multifunctional Hybrid Nanocomposites with Magnetically Controlled Reversible Shape–Memory Effect

Magneto-sensitivity and a thermo-sensitive reversible shape-memory effect have been successfully integrated into a hybrid nanocomposite, resulting in a magnetically controlled actuator. The complex requirements for gaining this multifunctionality are fulfilled by combining netpoints on the molecular and nano level in a polyesterurethane network prepared from hydroxyl group decorated magnetic nanoparticles, crystallizable star-shaped poly(ω-pentadecalactone) precursors, and a diisocyanate.

Triple‐Shape Effect in Polymer‐Based Composites by Cleverly Matching Geometry of Active Component with Heating Method

A triple-shape effect is created for a segmented device consisting of an active component encapsulated in a highly flexible polymer network. Segments with the same composition but different interface areas can be recovered independently either at specific field strengths (Hsw ) during inductive heating, at a specific time during environmentally heating, or at different airflow during inductive heating at constant H. Herein the type of heating method regulates the sequence order.

Oligo(ω-pentadecalactone) decorated magnetic nanoparticles

Hybrid magnetic nanoparticles (mgNP) with a magnetite core diameter of 10 ± 1 nm surface functionalized with oligo(ω-pentadecalactone) (OPDL) oligomers with Mn between 1300 and 3300 g mol−1 could be successfully prepared having OPDL grafted from 200 mg g−1 to 2170 mg g−1. The particles are dispersible in chloroform resulting in stable suspensions. Magnetic response against an external magnetic field proved the superparamagnetic nature of the particles with a low coercivity (Bc) value of 297 µT. The combination of the advantageous superparamagnetism of the mgNP with the exceptional stability of OPDL makes these novel hybrid mgNP promising candidates as multifunctional building blocks for magnetic nanocomposites with tunable physical properties.

Reprogrammable, magnetically controlled polymeric nanocomposite actuators

Soft robots and devices with the advanced capability to perform adaptive motions similar to that of human beings often have stimuli-sensitive polymeric materials as the key actuating component. The external signals triggering the smart polymers’ actuations can be transmitted either via a direct physical connection between actuator and controlling unit (tethered) or remotely without a connecting wire. However, the vast majority of such polymeric actuator materials are limited to one specific type of motion as their geometrical information is chemically fixed. Here, we present magnetically driven nanocomposite actuators, which can be reversibly reprogrammed to different actuation geometries by a solely physical procedure. Our approach is based on nanocomposite materials comprising spatially segregated crystallizable actuation and geometry determining units. Upon exposure to a specific magnetic field strength the actuators’ geometric memory is erased by the melting of the geometry determining units allowing the implementation of a new actuator shape. The actuation performance of the nanocomposites can be tuned and the technical significance was demonstrated in a multi-cyclic experiment with several hundreds of repetitive free-standing shape shifts without losing performance.

Ultrasonic Cavitation Induced Shape-Memory Effect in Porous Polymer Networks.

Inspired by the application of ultrasonic cavitation based mechanical force (CMF) to open small channels in natural soft materials (skin or tissue), it is explored whether an artificial polymer network can be created, in which shape-changes can be induced by CMF. This concept comprises an interconnected macroporous rhodium-phosphine (Rh-P) coordination polymer network, in which a CMF can reversibly dissociate the Rh-P microphases. In this way, the ligand exchange of Rh-P coordination bonds in the polymer network is accelerated, resulting in a topological rearrangement of molecular switches. This rearrangement of molecular switches enables the polymer network to release internal tension under ultrasound exposure, resulting in a CMF-induced shape-memory capability. The interconnected macroporous structure with thin pore walls is essential for allowing the CMF to effectively permeate throughout the polymer network. Potential applications of this CMF-induced shape-memory polymer can be mechanosensors or ultrasound controlled switches.