The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 25, 2025
Filed:
Aug. 03, 2022
The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, Stanford, CA (US);
The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, Stanford, CA (US);
Abstract
Periodic placement of directional dynamic bonding units along a flexible polymer backbone enables the formation of large supramolecular structures during strain. These structures, which form due to the alignment of stretched backbone chains, lock the stretched chains in their elongated state due to the formation of the directional dynamic bonds. Application of an appropriate stimulus (i.e., heat or light) weakens the dynamic bonds and enables the elongated chains to retract, performing measurable work and enabling the use of these structures as polymer actuators. Importantly, the high strength of the dynamic bonds enables a large amount of entropic energy to be stored in the elongated chains, enabling the polymer to achieve a large actuation force during recovery.