A dual cross-linked magnetic polymer solves the fundamental trade-off limiting soft artificial muscles, achieving unprecedented combinations of stretchability, force output, and shape-programming ...

Cross-linking polymers simply means adding bonds across polymer strands, explains Jeremy E. Wulff, a chemistry professor at the University of Victoria who led the work. Silicone bakeware, certain ...

Elastic polymers, or 'elastomers,' have various applications, including in car tires and shock absorbers, and their properties are governed by the density of cross-linked polymer chains. However, ...

The two different types of polymer architectures with dynamic bonds at crosslink points. The world is filled with a myriad of sounds and vibrations—the gentle tones of a piano drifting down the hall, ...

Soft robots are only as capable as the artificial muscles that drive them, and for years those muscles have forced a trade-off between strength and flexibility. A new magnetic polymer design is ...

(up) The enhancement mechanisms of (i) thermodynamic stability, (ii) kinetic activity, and (iii) external-field responsiveness. (down) Schematic representation of the formation of PIB5Cu and PIB, and ...