Charge-Encoded Hydrogels Program Sign-Reversible Belousov−Zhabotinsky Wave Transport

IF 8.6 1区化学 Q1 MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

ACS Materials Letters Pub Date : 2026-10-05 Epub Date: 2026-09-21 DOI:10.1021/acsmaterialslett.6c00698

Won Seok Lee, Tomoko Ikeda-Fukazawa

{"title":"Charge-Encoded Hydrogels Program Sign-Reversible Belousov−Zhabotinsky Wave Transport","authors":"Won Seok Lee, Tomoko Ikeda-Fukazawa","doi":"10.1021/acsmaterialslett.6c00698","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Reaction−diffusion waves provide a mode of spatiotemporal signal propagation in excitable media, yet passive control of their transport is typically limited to slowing or blocking. Here, using the Belousov−Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction as a model-excitable system, we show that fixed ionic charge in polyelectrolyte hydrogels provides a sign-reversible, composition-tunable handle for wave transport. Anionic gels retard BZ waves by up to 35%, whereas cationic gels accelerate them by up to 23% above the incoming bulk reference; chemically distinct monomers reproduce the same sign-dependent trend. Reduced Oregonator modeling shows that diffusion-only control cannot account for the full response and is consistent with a shift in effective local excitability, without assigning a unique microscopic mechanism. A triangular anionic gel further converts local retardation into refraction-like steering. These results establish fixed-charge chemistry as a passive materials parameter for tuning BZ-wave speed and trajectory, providing a foundation for chemically encoded signal-routing materials.</p>","PeriodicalId":19,"journal":{"name":"ACS Materials Letters","volume":"8 10","pages":"2949–2956"},"PeriodicalIF":8.6000,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"ACS Materials Letters","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsmaterialslett.6c00698","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/9/21 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Reaction−diffusion waves provide a mode of spatiotemporal signal propagation in excitable media, yet passive control of their transport is typically limited to slowing or blocking. Here, using the Belousov−Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction as a model-excitable system, we show that fixed ionic charge in polyelectrolyte hydrogels provides a sign-reversible, composition-tunable handle for wave transport. Anionic gels retard BZ waves by up to 35%, whereas cationic gels accelerate them by up to 23% above the incoming bulk reference; chemically distinct monomers reproduce the same sign-dependent trend. Reduced Oregonator modeling shows that diffusion-only control cannot account for the full response and is consistent with a shift in effective local excitability, without assigning a unique microscopic mechanism. A triangular anionic gel further converts local retardation into refraction-like steering. These results establish fixed-charge chemistry as a passive materials parameter for tuning BZ-wave speed and trajectory, providing a foundation for chemically encoded signal-routing materials.

查看原文本刊更多论文

电荷编码的水凝胶程序符号可逆Belousov - Zhabotinsky波传输

反应-扩散波在可激发介质中提供了一种时空信号传播模式，但对其传输的被动控制通常仅限于减慢或阻塞。在这里，我们使用Belousov - Zhabotinsky （BZ）反应作为一个模型可激发系统，我们证明了聚电解质水凝胶中的固定离子电荷为波输运提供了一个符号可逆、成分可调的处理。阴离子凝胶延缓BZ波的速度可达35%，而阳离子凝胶加速BZ波的速度可达23%。化学上不同的单体重现相同的依赖符号的趋势。简化Oregonator模型表明，仅扩散控制不能解释全部响应，并且与有效局部兴奋性的变化一致，而没有指定一个独特的微观机制。三角形阴离子凝胶进一步将局部阻滞转化为类似折射的转向。这些结果确立了固定电荷化学作为调节bz波速度和轨迹的被动材料参数，为化学编码信号路由材料提供了基础。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

ACS Materials Letters MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY-

CiteScore

14.60

自引率

3.50%

发文量

261

期刊介绍： ACS Materials Letters is a journal that publishes high-quality and urgent papers at the forefront of fundamental and applied research in the field of materials science. It aims to bridge the gap between materials and other disciplines such as chemistry, engineering, and biology. The journal encourages multidisciplinary and innovative research that addresses global challenges. Papers submitted to ACS Materials Letters should clearly demonstrate the need for rapid disclosure of key results. The journal is interested in various areas including the design, synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of emerging materials, understanding the relationships between structure, property, and performance, as well as developing materials for applications in energy, environment, biomedical, electronics, and catalysis. The journal has a 2-year impact factor of 11.4 and is dedicated to publishing transformative materials research with fast processing times. The editors and staff of ACS Materials Letters actively participate in major scientific conferences and engage closely with readers and authors. The journal also maintains an active presence on social media to provide authors with greater visibility.