Waste-Free Fully Electrically Fueled Dissipative Self-Assembly System

The importance and prevalence of
energy-fueled active
materials
in living systems have inspired the design of synthetic active materials
using various fuels. However, several major limitations of current
designs remain to be addressed, such as the accumulation of chemical
wastes during the process, unsustainable active behavior, and the
lack of precise spatiotemporal control. Here, we demonstrate a fully
electrically fueled (e-fueled) active self-assembly material that
can overcome the aforementioned limitations. Using an electrochemical
setup with dual electrocatalysts, the anodic oxidation of one electrocatalyst
(ferrocyanide, [Fe­(CN)6]4–) creates a
positive fuel to activate the self-assembly, while simultaneously,
the cathodic reduction of the other electrocatalyst (methyl viologen,
[MV]2+) generates a negative fuel triggering fiber disassembly.
Due to the fully catalytic nature for the reaction networks, this
fully e-fueled active material system does not generate any chemical
waste, can sustain active behavior for an extended period when the
electrical potential is maintained, and provides spatiotemporal control.