New perovskite research discoveries may lead to solar cell, LED advances

 

 

 

This image is a rendition of a one-dimensional, needle-like nanocrystal, such as the one prepared by Vela in collaboration with scientists Emily Smith and Jacob Petrich. Vela's team has prepared a family of highly luminescent perovskite nanocrystals with shape correlated emission.

 

"Promising" and "remarkable" are two words U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory scientist Javier Vela uses to describe recent research results on organolead mixed-halide perovskites.

Perovskites are optically active, semiconducting compounds that are known to display intriguing electronic, light-emitting and chemical properties. Over the last few years, lead-halide perovskites have become one of the most promising semiconductors for solar cells due to their low cost, easier processability and high power conversion efficiencies. Photovoltaics made of these materials now reach power conversion efficiencies of more than 20 percent.

Vela's research has focused on mixed-halide perovskites. Halides are simple and abundant, negatively charged compounds, such as iodide, bromide and chloride. Mixed-halide perovskites are of interest over single-halide perovskites for a variety of reasons. Mixed-halide perovskites appear to benefit from enhanced thermal and moisture stability, which makes them degrade less quickly than single-halide perovskites, Vela said. He added they can be fine-tuned to absorb sunlight at specific wavelengths, which makes them useful for tandem solar cells and many other applications, including light emitting diodes (LEDs).Using these compounds, scientists can control the color and efficiency of such energy conversion devices.

Speculating that these enhancements had something to do with the internal structure of mixed-halide perovskites, Vela, who is also an associate professor of chemistry at Iowa State University (ISU), worked with scientists with expertise in solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) at both Ames Laboratory and ISU. NMR is an analytical chemistry technique that provides scientists with physical, chemical, structural and electronic information about complex samples.

"Our basic question was what it is about these materials in terms of their chemistry, composition, and structure that can affect their behavior," said Vela.

Scientists found that depending on how the material is made there can be significant nonstoichiometric impurities or "dopants" permeating the material, which could significantly affect the material's chemistry, moisture stability and transport properties.

The answers came via the combination of the use of optical absorption spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction and for the first time, the advanced probing capabilities of lead solid-state NMR.
"We were only able to see these dopants, along with other semicrystalline impurities, through the use of lead solid-state NMR," said Vela.

Another major discovery scientists made was that solid state synthesis is far superior to solution-phase synthesis in making mixed-halide perovskites. According to Vela, the advanced spectroscopy and materials capabilities of Ames Laboratory and ISU were critical in understanding how various synthetic procedures affect the true composition, speciation, stability and optoelectronic properties of these materials.

"We found you can make clean mixed halide perovskites without semi-crystalline impurities if you make them in the absence of a solvent," Vela said.

According to Vela, the significance of their findings is multifold and they are only beginning to grasp the implications of those findings.

"One obvious implication is that our understanding of the amazing opto-electronic properties of these semiconductors was incomplete," said Vela. "We're dealing with a compound that is not inherently as simple as people thought."

The research is further discussed in a paper, "Persistent Dopants and Phase Segregation in Organolead Mixed-Halide Perovskites," authored by Vela, Bryan A. Rosales, Long Men, Sarah D. Cady, Michael P. Hanrahan, and Aaron J. Rossini; and published online in Chemistry Materials. The work was supported by DOE's Office of Science.

Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by DOE/Ames Laboratory. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

1. Bryan A. Rosales, Long Men, Sarah D. Cady, Michael P. Hanrahan, Aaron J. Rossini, Javier Vela. Persistent Dopants and Phase Segregation in Organolead Mixed-Halide Perovskites. Chemistry of Materials, 2016; DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b01874

Cite This Page:

DOE/Ames Laboratory. "New perovskite research discoveries may lead to solar cell, LED advances." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 September 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160907113651.htm>.

 

'Materials that compute' advances as engineers demonstrate pattern recognition

 

 

This is a conceptual illustration of pattern recognition process performed by hybrid gel oscillator system.

 

The potential to develop "materials that compute" has taken another leap at the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering, where researchers for the first time have demonstrated that the material can be designed to recognize simple patterns. This responsive, hybrid material, powered by its own chemical reactions, could one day be integrated into clothing and used to monitor the human body, or developed as a skin for "squishy" robots.

"Pattern recognition for materials that compute," published in the AAAS journal Science Advances, continues the research of Anna C. Balazs, Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, and Steven P. Levitan, the John A. Jurenko Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Co-investigators are Yan Fang, lead author and graduate student researcher in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Victor V. Yashin, Research Assistant Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering.

The computations were modeled utilizing Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) gels, a substance that oscillates in the absence of external stimuli, with an overlaying piezoelectric (PZ) cantilever. These so-called BZ-PZ units combine Dr. Balazs' research in BZ gels and Dr. Levitan's expertise in computational modeling and oscillator-based computing systems.

"BZ-PZ computations are not digital, like most people are familiar with, and so to recognize something like a blurred pattern within an image requires nonconventional computing," Dr. Balazs explained. "For the first time, we have been able to show how these materials would perform the computations for pattern recognition."

Dr. Levitan and Mr. Fang first stored a pattern of numbers as a set of polarities in the BZ-PZ units, and the input patterns are coded through the initial phase of the oscillations imposed on these units. The computational modeling revealed that the input pattern closest to the stored pattern exhibits the fastest convergence time to the stable synchronization behavior, and is the most effective at recognizing patterns. In this study, the materials were programmed to recognize black-and-white pixels in the shape of numbers that had been distorted.

Compared to a traditional computer, these computations are slow and take minutes. However, Dr. Yashin notes that the results are similar to nature, which moves at a "snail's pace."
"Individual events are slow because the period of the BZ oscillations is slow," Dr. Yashin said. "However, there are some tasks that need a longer analysis, and are more natural in function. That's why this type of system is perfect to monitor environments like the human body."

For example, Dr. Yashin said that patients recovering from a hand injury could wear a glove that monitors movement, and can inform doctors whether the hand is healing properly or if the patient has improved mobility. Another use would be to monitor individuals at risk for early onset Alzheimer's, by wearing footwear that would analyze gait and compare results against normal movements, or a garment that monitors cardiovascular activity for people at risk of heart disease or stroke.

Since the devices convert chemical reactions to electrical energy, there would be no need for external electrical power. This would also be ideal for a robot or other device that could utilize the material as a sensory skin.

"Our next goal is to expand from analyzing black-and-white pixels to grayscale and more complicated images and shapes, as well as to enhance the devices storage capability," Mr. Fang said. "This was an exciting step for us and reveals that the concept of "materials that compute" is viable."

The research is funded by a five-year National Science Foundation Integrated NSF Support Promoting Interdisciplinary Research and Education (INSPIRE) grant, which focuses on complex and pressing scientific problems that lie at the intersection of traditional disciplines.

"As computing performance technology is approaching the end of Moore's law growth, the demands and nature of computing are themselves evolving," noted Sankar Basu, NSF program director. "This work at the University of Pittsburgh, supported by the NSF, is an example of this groundbreaking shift away from traditional silicon CMOS-based digital computing to a non-von Neumann machine in a polymer substrate, with remarkable low power consumption. The project is a rare example of much needed interdisciplinary collaboration between material scientists and computer architects."

Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of Pittsburgh. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

1. Y. Fang, V. V. Yashin, S. P. Levitan, A. C. Balazs. Pattern recognition with "materials that compute". Science Advances, 2016; 2 (9): e1601114 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1601114

Cite This Page:

University of Pittsburgh. "'Materials that compute' advances as engineers demonstrate pattern recognition." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 September 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160902152046.htm>.

 

Bosch’s New Technology Injects Water into Your Engine – On Purpose 

Water is typically something you want to keep out of your engine, but a new engine design from Bosch actually injects water into the combustion chamber to enhance performance. Called WaterBoost, which sounds like something you would have on a powerboat, not a car, injects distilled water into the intakes. You may be thinking that since water is incompressible that this helps maximize power output, but in fact it is used to cool down the combustion chambers faster. Check out the video below that will demonstrate how the process works.

https://youtu.be/o5yLPUVViXI

This water injection allows the engine to operate at higher compression ratios, which in turn increases efficiency. This increase in efficiency means that fuel consumption can be decreased by 13 percent during acceleration. WaterBoost can be fitted to most modern engines, as it is just an add-on modification that can significantly improve your engine’s performance. A distilled water talk is held in the engine compartment, and by Bosch’s estimations, it only needs to be refilled every 2000 miles.

Believe it or not, water injection in engines isn’t actually that new of a technology. BMW uses it in their M4 GTS, and it has been used for many years in military aviation engines, according to CNET.

Image Source: Autoengplus

Bosch is the first company to widely manufacture a water injection system that drivers can use to modify their engine’s efficiency. Don’t worry, when applied correctly in the WaterBoost system, the water only benefits your engine, not harm it.

 

Electronic circuits printed at one micron resolution

Formation of microcircuit lines using a selective coating technique. (a) Schematic of selective coating technique. Only a hydrophilic region created through irradiation of parallel vacuum ultraviolet (PVUV) is coated with metal ink. (b) Electronic circuit with a line width of 5 ?m formed through selective coating. (c) Electrode lines with different widths. Lines as narrow as 1 ?m can be formed.

Credit: Image courtesy of National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)

A research team consisting of MANA Independent Scientist Takeo Minari, International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), NIMS, and Colloidal Ink developed a printing technique for forming electronic circuits and thin-film transistors (TFTs) with line width and line spacing both being 1 μm. Using this technique, the research team formed fully-printed organic TFTs with a channel length of 1 μm on flexible substrates, and confirmed that the TFTs operate at a practical level.

Printed electronics -- printing techniques to fabricate electronic devices using functional materials dissolved in ink -- is drawing much attention in recent years as a promising new method to create large-area semiconductor devices at low cost. Because these techniques enable the formation of electronic devices even on flexible substrates, they are expected to be applicable to new fields such as wearable devices. In comparison, conventional printing technologies allow the formation of circuits and devices with line widths only as narrow as several dozen micrometers. Accordingly, they are not applicable to the creation of minute devices suitable for practical use. Thus, there were high expectations for developing new printing techniques capable of consistently fabricating circuits with line widths of several micrometers or less.

In this study, the research team developed a printing technique capable of forming metal circuits with line width being 1 μm on flexible substrates. Using this technique, they fabricated minute organic TFTs. The principle of this printing technique is as follows: First, form hydrophilic and hydrophobic micro-patterns on the substrate by irradiating it with parallel vacuum ultraviolet (PVUV) at a wavelength of 200 nm or less. Then, coat only the hydrophilic patterns with metal nanoparticle inks. The use of a PVUV light source (Ushio Inc.) enabled us to focus emitted light on much smaller targets than conventional light sources. Moreover, the use of DryCure-Au -- metal nanoparticle ink that can form a conductive film at room temperature developed by Colloidal Ink -- enabled us to form devices and circuits at room temperature during the entire process. As a result, we are able to fully prevent distortion of flexible substrates by heat, and form and laminate circuits within the accuracy of several microns. In addition, we precisely tuned the gate overlap lengths of the printed organic TFTs fabricated by this technique, which was previously impossible due to accuracy issues. As a result, a practical mobility level of 0.3 cm2 V-1 s-1 was accomplished for the organic TFTs with the channel length of 1 μm.

In future studies, we will aim to apply the technique in various fields such as large-area flexible displays and sensors. Since the process we developed is applicable to bio-related materials, the technique may also be useful in medical and bioelectronics fields.

Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS). Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

1. Xuying Liu, Masayuki Kanehara, Chuan Liu, Kenji Sakamoto, Takeshi Yasuda, Jun Takeya, Takeo Minari. Spontaneous Patterning of High-Resolution Electronics via Parallel Vacuum Ultraviolet. Advanced Materials, 2016; 28 (31): 6568 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201506151

Cite This Page:National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS). "Electronic circuits printed at one micron resolution." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 1 September 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160901093000.htm>.

'Helix-to-tube' a simple strategy to synthesize covalent organic nanotubes

'Helix-to-tube' a simple strategy to synthesize covalent organic nanotubes

 

 

Synthesis of organic nanotubes by the "helix-to-tube" method.

 

Credit: Image courtesy of Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University

 

Organic nanotubes (ONTs) are tubular nanostructures composed of organic molecules that have unique properties and have found various applications, such as electro-conductive materials and organic photovoltaics.

 A group of scientists at Nagoya University have developed a simple and effective method for the formation of robust covalent ONTs from simple molecules. This method is expected to be useful in generating a range of nanotube-based materials with desirable properties.

Kaho Maeda, Dr. Hideto Ito, Professor Kenichiro Itami of the JST-ERATO Itami Molecular Nanocarbon Project and the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM) of Nagoya University, and their colleagues have reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, on the development of a new and simple strategy, "helix-to-tube" to synthesize covalent organic nanotubes.

Organic nanotubes (ONTs) are organic molecules with tubular nanostructures. Nanostructures are structures that range between 1 nm and 100 nm, and ONTs have a nanometer-sized cavity. Various applications of ONTs have been reported, including molecular recognition materials, transmembrane ion channel/sensors, electro-conductive materials, and organic photovoltaics. Most ONTs are constructed by a self-assembly process based on weak non-covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions and π-π interactions between aromatic rings. Due to these relatively weak interactions, most non-covalent ONTs possess a relatively fragile structure.

Covalent ONTs, whose tubular skeletons are cross-linked by covalent bonding (a bond made by sharing of electrons between atoms) could be synthesized from non-covalent ONTs. While covalent ONTs show higher stability and mechanical strength than non-covalent ONTs, the general synthetic strategy for covalent ONTs was yet to be established.

A team led by Hideto Ito and Kenichiro Itami has succeeded in developing a simple and effective method for the synthesis of robust covalent ONTs (tube) by an operationally simple light irradiation of a readily accessible helical polymer (helix). This so-called "helix-to-tube" strategy is based on the following steps: 1) polymerization of a small molecule (monomer) to make a helical polymer followed by, 2) light-induced cross-linking at longitudinally repeating pitches across the whole helix to form covalent nanotubes.

With their strategy, the team designed and synthesized diacetylene-based helical polymers (acetylenes are molecules that contain carbon-carbon triple bonds), poly(m-phenylene diethynylene)s (poly-PDEs), which has chiral amide side chains that are able to induce a helical folding through hydrogen-bonding interactions.

The researchers revealed that light-induced cross-linking at longitudinally aligned 1,3-butadiyne moieties (a group of molecules that contain four carbons with triple bonds at the first and third carbons) could generate the desired covalent ONT. "This is the first time in the world to show that the photochemical polymerization reaction of diynes is applicable to the cross-linking reaction of a helical polymer," says Maeda, a graduate student who mainly conducted the experiments.

The "helix-to-tube" method is expected to be able to generate a range of ONT-based materials by simply changing the arene (aromatic ring) unit in the monomer.

"One of the most difficult parts of this research was how to obtain scientific evidence on the structures of poly-PDEs and covalent ONTs," says Ito, one of the leaders of this study. "We had little experience with the analysis of polymers and macromolecules such as ONTs. Fortunately, thanks to the support of our collaborators in Nagoya University, who are specialists in these particular research fields, we finally succeeded in characterizing these macromolecules by various techniques including spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and microscopy."

"Although it took us about a year to synthesize the covalent ONT, it took another one and a half year to determine the structure of the nanotube," says Maeda. "I was extremely excited when I first saw the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images, which indicated that we had actually made the covalent ONT that we were expecting," she continues.

"The best part of the research for me was finding that the photochemical cross-linking had taken place on the helix for the first time," says Maeda. "In addition, photochemical cross-linking is known to usually occur in the solid phase, but we were able to show that the reaction takes place in the solution phase as well. As the reactions have never been carried out before, I was dubious at first, but it was a wonderful feeling to succeed in making the reaction work for the first time in the world. I can say for sure that this was a moment where I really found research interesting."

"We were really excited to develop this simple yet powerful method to achieve the synthesis of covalent ONTs," says Itami, the director of the JST-ERATO project and the center director of ITbM. "The "helix-to-tube" method enables molecular level design and will lead to the synthesis of various covalent ONTs with fixed diameters and tube lengths with desirable functionalities."

"We envisage that ongoing advances in the "helix-to-tube" method may lead to the development of various ONT-based materials including electro-conductive materials and luminescent materials," says Ito. "We are currently carrying out work on the "helix-to-tube" methodology and we hope to synthesize covalent ONTs with interesting properties for various applications."

Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

1. Kaho Maeda, Liu Hong, Taishi Nishihara, Yusuke Nakanishi, Yuhei Miyauchi, Ryo Kitaura, Naoki Ousaka, Eiji Yashima, Hideto Ito, Kenichiro Itami. Construction of Covalent Organic Nanotubes by Light-Induced Cross-Linking of Diacetylene-Based Helical Polymers. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2016; DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b05582

Cite This Page:

Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University. "'Helix-to-tube' a simple strategy to synthesize covalent organic nanotubes." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 30 August 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160830084008.htm>.

 

Better batteries: Next-generation smart separator membranes

Better batteries: Next-generation smart separator membranes

ULL STORY

From left are Sa Hoon Min, Jung-Hwan Kim, Prof. Sang-Young Lee (School of Energy and Chemical Engineering), Prof. Byeong-Su Kim (School of Natural Science), and Minsu-Gu.

 

Credit: UNIST

 

A team of Korean researchers, affiliated with UNIST is receiving the media spotlight as they have proposed a green material strategy for the development of smart battery separators beyond the current state-of-the-art counterparts.

The findings appear in the July 6th issue of Nano Letters, co-authored by Prof. Sang-Young Lee (School of Energy and Chemical Engineering), Prof. Byeong-Su Kim (School of Natural Science), the lead authors of the study Jung-Hwan Kim (School of Energy and Chemical Engineering) and Minsu Gu (School of Energy and Chemical Engineering), and four others.

In the study, the research team presented a new class of battery seperator based on the hierarchical/asymmetric porous structure of the heterolayered nanomat ("c-mat separator"), as an unprecedented membrane opportunity to enable remarkable advances in cell performance far beyond those accessible with conventional battery separators.

Among major battery components, separator membranes have not been the center of attention compared to other electrochemically active materials, despite their important roles in allowing ionic flow and preventing electrical contact between electrodes. This study introduces novel chemical functionalities to seperator membranes, thereby bringing unprecedented benefits to battery performance.

The c-mat separator consisted of a thin nanoporous TPY-CNF mat as the top layer and a thick macroporous electrospun PVP/PAN mat as the support layer. According to the research team, in addition to the aforementioned structural uniqueness, another salient feature of the c-mat separator is the higher ion conductivity compared with the existing PP/PE/PP separators.

"This ground-breaking discovery will pave the way towards next generation lithium-ion batteries, exhibiting significantly enhanced performance and increased energy efficiency," says JungHwan Kim, the lead author on the study.

The research team noted, "We envision that the c-mat separator, benefiting from its structural uniqueness and chemical functionalities, will open a new path for the development of high-performance smart separator membranes for potential use in next-generation power sources and in permselective membrane filtration systems for high mass flux/removal of heavy-metal ions."

Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology(UNIST). Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

1. Jung-Hwan Kim, Minsu Gu, Do Hyun Lee, Jeong-Hoon Kim, Yeon-Su Oh, Sa Hoon Min, Byeong-Su Kim, Sang-Young Lee. Functionalized Nanocellulose-Integrated Heterolayered Nanomats toward Smart Battery Separators. Nano Letters, 2016; DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b02069

Cite This Page:

Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology(UNIST). "Better batteries: Next-generation smart separator membranes." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 August 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160826092708.htm>.

 

The first autonomous, entirely soft robot

The first autonomous, entirely soft robot

Powered by a chemical reaction controlled by microfluidics, 3-D-printed 'octobot' has no electronics

 

The octobot is powered by a chemical reaction and controlled with a soft logic board. A reaction inside the bot transforms a small amount of liquid fuel (hydrogen peroxide) into a large amount of gas, which flows into the octobot's arms and inflates them like a balloon. The team used a microfluidic logic circuit, a soft analog of a simple electronic oscillator, to control when hydrogen peroxide decomposes to gas in the octobot.

 

Credit: Lori Sanders

 

A team of Harvard University researchers with expertise in 3D printing, mechanical engineering, and microfluidics has demonstrated the first autonomous, untethered, entirely soft robot. This small, 3D-printed robot -- nicknamed the octobot -- could pave the way for a new generation of completely soft, autonomous machines.

Soft robotics could revolutionize how humans interact with machines. But researchers have struggled to build entirely compliant robots. Electric power and control systems -- such as batteries and circuit boards -- are rigid and until now soft-bodied robots have been either tethered to an off-board system or rigged with hard components.

Robert Wood, the Charles River Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Jennifer A. Lewis, the Hansjorg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) led the research. Lewis and Wood are also core faculty members of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University.

"One long-standing vision for the field of soft robotics has been to create robots that are entirely soft, but the struggle has always been in replacing rigid components like batteries and electronic controls with analogous soft systems and then putting it all together," said Wood. "This research demonstrates that we can easily manufacture the key components of a simple, entirely soft robot, which lays the foundation for more complex designs."

The research is described in the journal Nature.

"Through our hybrid assembly approach, we were able to 3D print each of the functional components required within the soft robot body, including the fuel storage, power and actuation, in a rapid manner," said Lewis. "The octobot is a simple embodiment designed to demonstrate our integrated design and additive fabrication strategy for embedding autonomous functionality."

Octopuses have long been a source of inspiration in soft robotics. These curious creatures can perform incredible feats of strength and dexterity with no internal skeleton.

Harvard's octobot is pneumatic-based, i.e., it is powered by gas under pressure. A reaction inside the bot transforms a small amount of liquid fuel (hydrogen peroxide) into a large amount of gas, which flows into the octobot's arms and inflates them like a balloon.

"Fuel sources for soft robots have always relied on some type of rigid components," said Michael Wehner, a postdoctoral fellow in the Wood lab and co-first author of the paper. "The wonderful thing about hydrogen peroxide is that a simple reaction between the chemical and a catalyst -- in this case platinum -- allows us to replace rigid power sources."

To control the reaction, the team used a microfluidic logic circuit based on pioneering work by co-author and chemist George Whitesides, the Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor and core faculty member of the Wyss. The circuit, a soft analog of a simple electronic oscillator, controls when hydrogen peroxide decomposes to gas in the octobot.

"The entire system is simple to fabricate, by combining three fabrication methods -- soft lithography, molding and 3D printing -- we can quickly manufacture these devices," said Ryan Truby, a graduate student in the Lewis lab and co-first author of the paper.

The simplicity of the assembly process paves the way for more complex designs. Next, the Harvard team hopes to design an octobot that can crawl, swim and interact with its environment.

"This research is a proof of concept," Truby said. "We hope that our approach for creating autonomous soft robots inspires roboticists, material scientists and researchers focused on advanced manufacturing,"
The paper was co-authored by Daniel Fitzgerald of the Wyss Institute and Bobak Mosadegh, of Cornell University. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation through the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at Harvard and by the Wyss Institute.

Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The original item was written by Leah Burrows. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

1. Michael Wehner, Ryan L. Truby, Daniel J. Fitzgerald, Bobak Mosadegh, George M. Whitesides, Jennifer A. Lewis, Robert J. Wood. An integrated design and fabrication strategy for entirely soft, autonomous robots. Nature, 2016; 536 (7617): 451 DOI: 10.1038/nature19100

Cite This Page:

Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. "The first autonomous, entirely soft robot: Powered by a chemical reaction controlled by microfluidics, 3-D-printed 'octobot' has no electronics." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 24 August 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160824135032.htm>.