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The Suitability of 3-D Printed Eutectic Gallium-Indium Alloy as a Heating Element for Thermally Active Hydrogels
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 December 2016
Abstract
We report the use of a novel extrusion tip that allows for the omnidirectional printing of eutectic gallium-indium (eGaIn) alloy onto the surface of hydrogel materials into complex 2-dimensional patterns. The use of these printed soft “wires” as an electrothermal heating element for soft robotics purposes was explored. Heating of the eGaIn structures encapsulated in an alginate/acrylamide ionic-covalent entanglement hydrogel was measured by a thermal imaging camera. It was determined that eGaIn is a suitable material for use in future soft robotics applications as an electrothermal heating element to actuate thermally responsive N-isoproylacrylamide hydrogels.
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- Copyright © Materials Research Society 2016
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