FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ACS News Service Weekly PressPac: February 23, 2022
Colorfully detecting stressed-out polymer films, gels before they break (video)
Journal of the American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网
Stretchy films and squishy gels help make wearable electronics, soft robotics and biocompatible tissues a reality. But too much force can cause these polymers to break apart without warning. To detect stress before it鈥檚 too late, researchers reporting in the聽Journal of the American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网聽show they have designed a compound with 鈥渨ings鈥� that makes these materials change color when they are stretched or crushed.
Plasticky films and polymer gels 鈥� soft 3D networks filled with liquids 鈥� can be bendable, stretchable or compressible. And while most polymer films only snap apart when pulled too far, many gels aren鈥檛 very strong, cracking under relatively small amounts of pressure. Yet there isn鈥檛 a way to predict how tough the spongy material will be. In previous research, Shohei Saito and colleagues developed V-shaped molecules, known as flapping molecular (FLAP) force probes. FLAPs have two side structures resembling wings that flatten under pressure, causing a color change from blue to green fluorescence. This probe worked as expected when incorporated into a polyurethane film, but when added to a liquid-soaked polymer gel, the compound spontaneously turned fluorescent green without any external force. So, Saito and Takuya Yamakado set out to improve the FLAP molecule so that it would accurately detect mechanical stresses in both a polymer gel and a film.聽
The researchers modified their earlier version by replacing the two anthraceneimide wings with pyreneimide ones, attaching them to opposite sides of the same flexible central cyclooctatetraene joint. When they added the probe into a polymer film and stretched the material, its fluorescence shifted strongly from blue to green. It also produced a color change that was visible to the naked eye. Next, the researchers incorporated the new FLAP probe into a polyurethane gel soaked in an organic solvent, creating a yellow cylinder that fluoresced blue, and then compressed the material. The cylinder鈥檚 fluorescence became measurably greener as more pressure was exerted. In their final test, the researchers placed metal letters F-L-A-P on a rectangular block of the gel. They used maps of the green to blue fluorescence ratio to calculate the pressure each letter placed on the gel below, which ranged from 0 to 1 MPa. The researchers say this study could help them develop tougher gel materials and nanoscale tension probes for cell membranes.聽
The authors acknowledge funding from a Japan Science and Technology Agency PRESTO (FRONTIER) grant, a Japan Science and Technology Agency FOREST grant, a Japan 中国365bet中文官网 for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI grant, a Japan 中国365bet中文官网 for the Promotion of Science Fellowship, the Inoue Foundation for Science and the Toray Science Foundation.
###
The American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 (ACS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1876 and chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is committed to improving all lives through the transforming power of chemistry. Its mission is to advance scientific knowledge, empower a global community and champion scientific integrity, and its vision is a world built on science. The 中国365bet中文官网 is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, e-books and weekly news periodical聽Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world鈥檚 scientific knowledge. ACS鈥� main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
Registered journalists can subscribe to the to access embargoed and public science press releases. For media inquiries, contact newsroom@acs.org.
Note: ACS does not conduct research but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies.
Media Contact
ACS Newsroom
newsroom@acs.org
###
La sociedad American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 (ACS) es una organizaci贸n sin fines de lucro fundada en 1876 y aprobada por el Congreso de los Estados Unidos. La ACS se ha comprometido a mejorar la vida de todas las personas mediante la transformaci贸n del poder de la qu铆mica. Su misi贸n es promover el conocimiento cient铆fico, empoderar a la comunidad global y defender la integridad cient铆fica, y su visi贸n es un mundo construido bas谩ndose en la ciencia. La Sociedad es l铆der mundial en la promoci贸n de la excelencia en la educaci贸n cient铆fica y en el acceso a informaci贸n e investigaci贸n relacionadas con la qu铆mica a trav茅s de sus m煤ltiples soluciones de investigaci贸n, publicaciones revisadas por expertos, conferencias cient铆ficas, libros electr贸nicos y noticias semanales peri贸dicas de Chemical & Engineering News. Las revistas de la ACS se encuentran entre las m谩s citadas, las m谩s fiables y las m谩s le铆das en la literatura cient铆fica; sin embargo, la propia ACS no realiza investigaci贸n qu铆mica. Como l铆der en soluciones de informaci贸n cient铆fica, su divisi贸n CAS se asocia con innovadores internacionales para acelerar los avances mediante la preservaci贸n, la conexi贸n y el an谩lisis de los conocimientos cient铆ficos del mundo. Las sedes principales de la ACS se encuentran en Washington, D.C., y Columbus, Ohio.
Los periodistas registrados pueden suscribirse al en EurekAlert! para acceder a comunicados de prensa p煤blicos y retenidos.聽 Para consultas de los medios, comun铆quese con newsroom@acs.org.
Nota: ACS no realiza investigaciones, pero publica y divulga estudios cient铆ficos revisados por expertos.鈥�
%20-%20American%20Chemical%20中国365bet中文官网', '_blank', 'width=450,height=550');void(0);){kind=link}