3D Printing of Smart Gels

Various kind of gel materials for example tough double network hydrogels [1], shape memory hydrogels [2] and ionic gels [3] have been developed with potential in numerous sectors. The transparent, flexible and low friction properties of these gels have added different prospects in scientific and technological areas. Utilization of 3D printing in fabrication of gel materials is still in its infancy and thus hindering rapid prototyping and design freedom. In this work, we have fabricated smart gels like thermos-responsive gels and conductive gels etc. using both customized optical gel 3D printers named SWIM-ER and commercial printer named Acculas. This process of 3D printing enabled rapid and moldless fabrication of smart gels with variety of 3D design from macro to micro scale. Robust thermos-responsive Poly (dimethyl acrylamide-co-stearyl acrylate and/or Lauryl Acrylate) (PDMMAm-co-SA and/or LA)-based shape memory gels (SMGs) with tunable mechanical, thermal, swelling, and optical properties are obtained by optimizing their critical conditions during 3d printing. The superior physiochemical properties of such smart gels widen the range of applications for soft robotics, biomedicine, flexible electronics, mimicking organ structure, bioinspired lens and sensing applications. References Gong, J. P., Katsuyama, Y., Kurokawa, T., Osada, Y., “Double-Network Hydrogels with Extremely High Mechanical Strength,” Adv. Mater., 15 , 1155-1158 (2003). Kabir, M.H., Ahmed, K. Furukawa, H., Microelectron. Eng. 150 , 43–46 (2016). Ahmed, K., Watanabe, Y., Higashihara, T. Arafune, H. Kamijo, T., Morinaga, T. Sato, T., Makino, M. Kawakami, M., Furukawa, H. Microsyst Technol 22 , 17 (2016).