Actuating Shape Memory Polymer for Thermoresponsive Soft Robotic Gripper and Programmable Materials.

For soft robotics and programmable metamaterials, novel approaches are required enabling the design of highly integrated thermoresponsive actuating systems. In the concept presented here, the necessary functional component was obtained by polymer syntheses. First, poly(1,10-decylene adipate) diol (PDA) with a number average molecular weight of 3290 g·mol was synthesized from 1,10-decanediol and adipic acid.

Magnetic Refrigeration with Recycled Permanent Magnets and Free Rare-Earth Magnetocaloric La-Fe-Si.

Magnetic refrigeration is an upcoming technology that could be an alternative to the more than 100-year-old conventional gas-vapor compression cooling. Magnetic refrigeration might answer some of the global challenges linked with the increasing demands for readily available cooling in almost every region of the world and the global-warming potential of conventional refrigerants. Important issues to be solved are, for example, the required mass and the ecological footprint of the rare-earth permanent magnets and the magnetocaloric material, which are key parts of the magnetic cooling device.