Good day to our readers.

You might find that the structure of this email newsletter has changed! I’m taking a page out of successful newsletters like The Hustle and The Milk Road, where I hope to make our newsletters follow a consistent structure. This would make it easier for our readers to scan and provide a better reading experience.

In Brief

• Introducing the new newsletter structure.

• Sharing two review papers in the hydrogel space.

• New section for sharing beautiful science-themed image #IOTD

Research Updates

Designing Strong, Fast, High-performance Hydrogel Actuators

Smart robots are capable of performing various mechanical functions and have enormous potential to revolutionize business, society and our personal lives. Soft robots based on soft materials are preferred for safe human-machine interactions. Hydrogels are particularly promising to be developed as soft actuators due to their tissue-like softness, ability to undergo large deformations and biocompatibility.

• Designing tough and strong hydrogel actuators: The mechanical properties of hydrogels can be enhanced by introducing sacrificial bonds into polymer networks, precisely controlling the network topologies such as dual-cross-linked networks and double networks, or introducing inorganic nanofillers.

• Designing fast hydrogel actuators: The actuation speed of hydrogels can be improved by introducing pores through various structural engineering approaches or by rationally designing the macromolecular topology. Actuation mechanisms that do not rely on water diffusion can also enable ultrafast actuation speed.

• Designing strong, fast hydrogel actuators: To overcome the trade-off between mechanical properties and actuation speed, advanced processing techniques can be used to control the micro-macroscopic structures of hydrogel actuators or chemical structure can be rationally designed.

• Designing high-performance hydrogel actuators: The metrics for measuring the performance of soft actuators include actuation strain, actuation stress/force, work capacity and power density. To improve the actuation stress and work capacity of hydrogel actuators, new design strategies should be proposed.

• Conclusion and Future Prospective: Despite all the exciting progress discussed so far, there are still several pressing challenges that need to be resolved before these materials can be used in more widespread real-world applications. Especially important is to combine desirable actuation performance with robust mechanical properties.

Natural Terpenoid-Based Sustainable Thermoplastics, Cross-Linked Polymers, and Supramolecular Materials

The ubiquity of polymer materials in human life and the negative consequences of their huge consumption of nonrenewable resources. It highlights the efforts to explore sustainable polymers to replace existing petroleum-based ones. Terpenoids are identified as natural resources with unique skeletons for constructing diverse molecular structures and developing multiple functions.

• Terpenoid-derived thermoplastics: Design and synthesis of terpenoid-derived thermoplastics including polypinenes, polyesters, polyamides, polyurethanes and polycarbonates. It highlights how terpenoids can be utilized to create thermoplastics that are degradable and achieve a virtuous cycle of biomass materials in nature.

• Terpenoid-derived cross-linked polymers: Thermosets and dynamic cross-linked networks. It highlights how terpenoids with stiffness rings can be used to design structural materials with good mechanical and thermal properties.

• Conclusion: Highlights the importance of natural terpenoids in promoting their exploitation and utilization. It also provides more alternatives for the advancement of sustainable functional materials.

Image Of The Day

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