Patterned crystal growth and heat wave generation in hydrogels

Thomas B. H. Schroeder () and Joanna Aizenberg ()
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Thomas B. H. Schroeder: Harvard University
Joanna Aizenberg: Harvard University

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: 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.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27505-z

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