On a mechanical oscillator, a glass stage featuring a metal sphere on a tee was supported by three cylindrical pillars of magnetically structured hydrogel containing cofacially oriented TiNSs (0.8 wt%) in parallel (g) or orthogonal (h) direction to the cylinder cross-section.
In a world-first achievement, scientists from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science in Japan, along with colleagues from the National Institute of Material Science and the University of Tokyo, have developed a new hydrogel whose properties are dominated by electrostatic repulsion, rather than attractive interactions.
According to Yasuhiro Ishida, head of the Emergent Bioinspired Soft Matter Research Team, the work began from a surreptitious discovery, that when titanate nano-sheets are suspended in an aqueous colloidal dispersion, they align themselves face-to-face in a plane when subjected to a strong magnetic field. The field maximizes the electrostatic repulsion between them and entices them into a quasi-crystalline structure. They naturally orient themselves face to face, separated by the electrostatic forces between them.
To create the new material, the researchers used the newly discovered method to arrange layers of the sheets in a plane, and once the sheets were aligned in the plane, fixed the magnetically induced structural order by transforming the dispersion into a hydrogel using a procedure called light-triggered in-situ vinyl polymerization. Essentially, pulses of light are used to congeal the aqueous solution into a hydrogel, so that the sheets could no longer move.
By doing this, they created a material whose properties are dominated by electrostatic repulsion, the same force that makes our hair stand end when we touch a van generator.
Up to now, manmade materials have not taken advantage of this phenomenon, but nature has. Cartilage owes its ability to allow virtually frictionless mechanical motion within joints, even under high compression, to the electrostatic forces inside it. Electrostatic repulsive forces are used in various places, such as maglev trains, vehicle suspensions and noncontact bearings, but up to now, materials design has focused overwhelmingly on attractive interactions.
Read more: A repulsive material
The Latest on: Repulsive hydrogel
via Google News
The Latest on: Repulsive hydrogel
- Creating coherent device motion based on coordinated microscopic movementson November 25, 2021 at 4:00 pm
When the researchers weakened the repulsive force by adding ions to the solution, the nanosheets became closer as the repulsion weakened. This created a wave that spread through the material.
- Scientists discover biological mechanisms caused by deficits in high-risk autism geneon November 24, 2021 at 8:06 am
Cues outside of cells modulate these processes to trigger changes in neurons through attractive and repulsive effects. Lorenzo's research team showed that cortical neurons require the giant ...
- Ted Cruz posts picture of himself grinning alongside skin of endangered tigeron November 11, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Texas Senator Ted Cruz shared a photo on Wednesday night of himself and Utah Senator Mike Lee kneeling next to a real-looking tiger skin rug Tigers are on the World Wildlife Fund's endangered ...
- Probing Cartilage at Nanoscale Levelson October 27, 2021 at 5:00 pm
The matrix itself is made up of a collagen mesh and a gel composed of proteoglycan ... play an extremely important role in cartilage function because of electrical repulsive interactions between the ...
- This lightweight gel moisturiser will quench dehydrated skin - and it's less than £11 on Amazonon October 17, 2021 at 12:03 pm
Thousands of shoppers can't get enough of this gel moisturiser, hailing it 'the best face cream' they've ever tried. And it costs just £10.93 (was £12.99). Hydrating, non-greasy and backed by ...
- Materials Research Science and Engineering Centeron January 9, 2021 at 12:07 am
Rafts in like states have repulsive interactions, while unlike states lead to metastably ... The investigators have now made a truly macroscopic (millimeter sized) 3D contractile active gel composed ...
- Hagfishes: how much slime can a slime eel make?on October 21, 2020 at 4:02 am
While some might describe a hagfish as 'repulsive,' 'disgusting' or ... Its structure acts more like a fine sieve that slows water down rather than a coherent gel. Hagfish slime is much more dilute ...
- Direct deposition of micro- and nanoscale hydrogels using Dip Pen Nanolithography (DPN)on January 20, 2019 at 4:38 am
These gels can act as repulsive barriers for studying controlled cell migration, or they can be combined with separate functional polymers for research into cell-adhesion properties 3. Hydrogels ...
- Chicken Feet Broth Recipeon October 20, 2018 at 7:54 am
Gnarly and doubtlessly repulsive with their scaly yellow skin ... With chilling, the broth should gel enough that it must be scooped out of the jar with a spoon. This is normal, and the broth ...
- Points to ponder: Players shine outside of spotlighton May 24, 2014 at 8:20 am
If you have ever found yourself ‘accidentally’ watching a reality TV show (don’t worry, everyone loses their remote from time to time), you have likely gasped at how repulsive humans can be.
via Bing News
