The possibilities are endless for a new material that moves to the light

Solar arrays that bend autonomously to a light source may be possible thanks to a major breakthrough in materials science.

A few weeks ago at Inspirefest 2018, we heard about the challenges of solar panels. the energy disappears with the rotation of the Earth.

But was it possible that these solar panels move during a day without any human interaction?

It is now a possibility following the creation of a range of new materials that can move in different ways when they are exposed to light.

In an article published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the research team of the Tufts University in the United States revealed their magnetic elastomeric composites inspired by the nature itself.

Just as flowers and leaves are able to turn to sunlight, these new materials can change their magnetic properties after a particular temperature. The Curie temperature is reached.

Thus, by heating or cooling a magnetic material, it is possible to activate and deactivate the magnetism. In this case, biopolymers and elastomers doped with ferromagnetic CrO2 heat up when exposed to lasers or sunlight.

This causes the loss of its magnetic properties until it cools again and the basic movements of the sponge material, "We could combine these simple movements into more complex movements, such as crawling, walk or swim, "said Fiorenzo Omenetto, corresponding author of the series of films and hydrogels.

"And these movements can be triggered and controlled wirelessly, using light."

First of its kind

A demonstration of technology showed how a flexible grasping device could capture and release objects in response to light.

Meng Li, the first author of the article, said that specific parts of a device could be activated for various uses.

"And, unlike other light-based materials On liquid crystals, these materials may be brought closer or farther away from the direction of light," he said. she says

"All of these features add to the ability to create complex and coordinated objects."

Materials used to create new processes included polydimethylsiloxane, a widely used, often used, transparent elastomer in flexible films and able to take a wide variety of forms.

Omenetto adds: "We could theoretically achieve even more complicated and precise movements, such as folding and unfolding, microfluidic switching, micro and nano motors, etc."