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Patterned crystal growth and heat wave generation in hydrogels

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  • Thomas B. H. Schroeder

    (Harvard University)

  • Joanna Aizenberg

    (Harvard University
    Harvard University)

Abstract

The crystallization of metastable liquid phase change materials releases stored energy as latent heat upon nucleation and may therefore provide a triggerable means of activating downstream processes that respond to changes in temperature. In this work, we describe a strategy for controlling the fast, exothermic crystallization of sodium acetate from a metastable aqueous solution into trihydrate crystals within a polyacrylamide hydrogel whose polymerization state has been patterned using photomasks. A comprehensive experimental study of crystal shapes, crystal growth front velocities and evolving thermal profiles showed that rapid growth of long needle-like crystals through unpolymerized solutions produced peak temperatures of up to 45˚C, while slower-crystallizing polymerized solutions produced polycrystalline composites and peaked at 30˚C due to lower rates of heat release relative to dissipation in these regions. This temperature difference in the propagating heat waves, which we describe using a proposed analytical model, enables the use of this strategy to selectively activate thermoresponsive processes in predefined areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas B. H. Schroeder & Joanna Aizenberg, 2022. "Patterned crystal growth and heat wave generation in hydrogels," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-27505-z
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27505-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Amy Sutton & Tanya Shirman & Jaakko V.I. Timonen & Grant T England & Philseok Kim & Mathias Kolle & Thomas Ferrante & Lauren D Zarzar & Elizabeth Strong & Joanna Aizenberg, 2017. "Correction: Corrigendum: Photothermally triggered actuation of hybrid materials as a new platform for in vitro cell manipulation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-1, August.
    2. Amy Sutton & Tanya Shirman & Jaakko V. I. Timonen & Grant T England & Philseok Kim & Mathias Kolle & Thomas Ferrante & Lauren D Zarzar & Elizabeth Strong & Joanna Aizenberg, 2017. "Photothermally triggered actuation of hybrid materials as a new platform for in vitro cell manipulation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-13, April.
    3. Ximin He & Michael Aizenberg & Olga Kuksenok & Lauren D. Zarzar & Ankita Shastri & Anna C. Balazs & Joanna Aizenberg, 2012. "Synthetic homeostatic materials with chemo-mechano-chemical self-regulation," Nature, Nature, vol. 487(7406), pages 214-218, July.
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