能夠彎曲、翻轉(zhuǎn)和移動的花粉紙

能夠彎曲、翻轉(zhuǎn)和移動的花粉紙
 

Scientists at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) have created a paper-like material derived from pollen that bends and curls in response to changing levels of environmental humidity.

新加坡南洋理工大學(xué)的科學(xué)家發(fā)明了一種類似紙的材料，這種材料由花粉制成，花粉會隨著環(huán)境濕度的變化而彎曲。

The ability of this paper made from pollen to alter its mechanical characteristics in response to external stimuli may make it useful in a wide range of applications, including soft robots, sensors, artificial muscles, and electric generators.

這種由花粉制成的紙能夠根據(jù)外部刺激改變其機(jī)械特性，這種能力可能使它在廣泛的應(yīng)用中有用，包括軟機(jī)器人、傳感器、人造肌肉和發(fā)電機(jī)。

Combined with digital printing, pollen paper may hold promise for the fabrication of a new generation of programmable natural actuators -- components in a machine that are responsible for moving and controlling a mechanism.

結(jié)合數(shù)字印刷，花粉紙可能有希望制造新一代的可編程自然驅(qū)動器---- 機(jī)器中負(fù)責(zé)移動和控制機(jī)制的組件。

The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week, show how the NTU Singapore team formulated the paper using softened pollen grains.

這項研究結(jié)果發(fā)表在本周的《美國國家科學(xué)院院刊》(Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences)雜志上，展示了南洋理工大學(xué)新加坡研究小組是如何使用軟化的花粉顆粒來制定論文的。

They demonstrated the pollen-based paper's properties by folding it into a flower that 'blooms' in the presence of water vapour. They also showed that the pollen material's physical properties can be adjusted, with a strip of pollen-based paper that is able to 'walk'.

他們將這種以花粉為基礎(chǔ)的紙折疊成一朵在水蒸氣存在的情況下“盛開”的花，從而證明了這種紙的特性。他們還發(fā)現(xiàn)，花粉物質(zhì)的物理性質(zhì)可以通過一張能“行走”的紙條來調(diào)整。

The corresponding authors of this paper are Assistant Professor Song Juha of the School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, and Professor Cho Nam-Joon and Professor Subra Suresh of the School of Materials Science and Engineering at NTU.

本文的通訊作者是生物醫(yī)學(xué)工程的助理教授 Song Juha，南洋理工大學(xué)材料科學(xué)與工程學(xué)院的 Cho Nam-Joon 教授和 Subra Suresh 教授。

NTU Distinguished University Professor Subra Suresh, who is also the NTU President, said: "Much progress has been made in developing bioinspired sensors and actuators based on engineered synthetic materials, but these materials come with limitations such as issues with environmental sustainability and relatively high cost. There remains a critical need to incorporate cost-effective and eco-friendly materials. Just as pine cones open and close their scales depending on the amount of moisture in the air, our NTU research team has shown that pollen paper created from naturally abundant pollen grains responds as an actuator to changes in environmental humidity."

南洋理工大學(xué)杰出大學(xué)教授兼校長蘇布拉 · 蘇雷什說: “基于人工合成材料的生物傳感器和執(zhí)行器的開發(fā)已經(jīng)取得了很大進(jìn)展，但是這些材料存在一些局限性，比如環(huán)境可持續(xù)性問題和相對較高的成本。 仍然迫切需要納入具有成本效益和環(huán)保的材料。 正如松果根據(jù)空氣中水分的多少來打開和關(guān)閉它們的鱗片一樣，我們的南洋理工大學(xué)研究小組已經(jīng)證明，由自然界豐富的花粉顆粒創(chuàng)造的花粉紙可以作為環(huán)境濕度變化的驅(qū)動器。”

NTU Professor Cho Nam-Joon, who holds the Materials Research Society of Singapore Chair in Materials Science and Engineering, said: "These findings build on the recent work by our NTU team, in which we showed how hard pollen grains can be converted into soft microgel particles that alter their properties in response to external stimuli. This process also renders pollen and the products we create from it, non-allergenic."

南洋理工大學(xué)的 Cho Nam-Joon 教授是新加坡材料科學(xué)與工程教授，他說: “這些發(fā)現(xiàn)建立在我們南洋理工大學(xué)團(tuán)隊最近的工作之上，我們展示了硬花粉顆粒是如何轉(zhuǎn)化成軟微凝膠顆粒的，這些微凝膠顆粒可以根據(jù)外部刺激改變它們的性質(zhì)。 這個過程也使花粉和我們從中制造的產(chǎn)品不會引起過敏。”