Facile formation of agarose hydrogel and electromechanical responses as electro-responsive hydrogel materials in actuator applications

Kornkanok Rotjanasuworapong; Natlita Thummarungsan; Wanchai Lerdwijitjarud; Anuvat Sirivat

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116709

Facile formation of agarose hydrogel and electromechanical responses as electro-responsive hydrogel materials in actuator applications

Carbohydr Polym. 2020 Nov 1:247:116709. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116709. Epub 2020 Jul 1.

Authors

Kornkanok Rotjanasuworapong¹, Natlita Thummarungsan¹, Wanchai Lerdwijitjarud², Anuvat Sirivat³

Affiliations

¹ Conductive and Electroactive Polymers Research Unit, The Petroleum and Petrochemical College, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand.
² Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Technology, Silpakorn University, Nakorn Pathom, 73000, Thailand.
³ Conductive and Electroactive Polymers Research Unit, The Petroleum and Petrochemical College, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand. Electronic address: anuvat.s@chula.ac.th.

PMID: 32829837
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116709

Abstract

The agarose hydrogels (AG HyGels) were fabricated by a solvent casting method at various agarose concentrations, resulting in the 3D hydrogel networks via the physical crosslinking from the hydrogen bonding. The actuator performances were investigated at various agarose contents and electric field strengths. For the electromechanical properties, the AG HyGel_12.0 %v/v possessed the highest storage modulus (G') and storage modulus relative response (ΔG'/G'₀) of 4.48 × 10⁶ Pa and 1.07, respectively under applied electric field strength of 800 V/mm due to the electrostriction effect. In the electro-induced bending measurement, the highest deflection distance was obtained from the AG HyGel_2.0 %v/v due to its initial lower rigidity. Relative to other bio-based hydrogels, the present AG HyGels are first demonstrated here as electroactive materials showing comparable magnitudes in the electroactive responses, but with the simple fabrication method without toxic ingredients required. Thus, the present AG HyGels are potential material candidates for soft actuator applications.

Keywords: Agarose; Electro-induced bending response; Electro-responsive hydrogel; Electromechanical properties; Soft actuator.