Cellulose-based electroactive hydrogels for seaweed mimicking toward hybrid artificial habitats creation
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Research Letter
Cellulose-based electroactive hydrogels for seaweed mimicking toward hybrid artificial habitats creation Lorenzo Migliorini*, Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Golgi 19, 20133, Milan, Italy; CIMaINa, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 16, 20133, Milan, Italy Yunsong Yan*, Federico Pezzotta, Francesca Maria Sole Veronesi, and Cristina Lenardi, CIMaINa, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 16, 20133, Milan, Italy Sandra Rondinini, Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Golgi 19, 20133, Milan, Italy Tommaso Santaniello, and Paolo Milani, CIMaINa, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 16, 20133, Milan, Italy Address all correspondence to Tommaso Santaniello at [email protected] and Paolo Milani at [email protected] (Received 15 June 2018; accepted 3 August 2018)
Abstract We present the synthesis and the characterization of a novel cellulose-based electroactive hydrogel obtained through a simple water-based process. Its swelling and electroactive properties are here studied especially in low salinity water solutions. By combining smart materials and three-dimensional printing technique, we assessed that hydrogels can be shaped as natural algae and their motion can be controlled with electric signals to mimic natural seaweed movements under the effect of water flow. This could constitute a first step toward the development of hybrid habitats where artificial smart algae could cohabit with real living organisms or microorganisms.
Introduction In aquatic ecosystems, both marine or fluvial, algae and aquatic plants play many roles, acting as primary producers of organic matter and micro-habitat for an enormous fauna of microorganisms; they contribute to the self-purification of water with various chemical–physical processes and they cause a local slowdown of the water flow, with retention and sedimentation of fine inorganic and organic particles. Algae are renowned for their antifouling properties, so interesting and efficient that many studies tried to replicate them with artificial solutions.[1,2] Considering also their use as nutritious food in human society, for many years algae have been massively cultured in natural, controlled or artificial environments.[3] Because of this, many studies have been conducted with the aim to understand how external factors affect their growth and properties. One of the key factors is the hydrodynamic environment: water flow causes the movement of the algae which can occur in many ways, depending also on their shape, structure, and mechanical properties.[4–10] Such motion influences their growth and productivity,[11] the exchanges of nutrients and carbon dioxide, as well the rates of photosynthesis.[12] Although there is a lot of research about natural algae, few examples can be found regarding the use of artificial ones. Materials science can help in finding new materials able to mimic some of the typical properties
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