Microgels as Energy Carriers

这个建议涉及的问题，是否单一的微凝胶可以是合适的载体的能量在非平衡结构。为此，研究了基于核-壳结构的电活性区室化微凝胶。不同的电活性基团将嵌入微凝胶的不同区域。通过涉及温度调节和化学和/或电化学氧化/还原顺序的专门样品制备，单个微凝胶的结构域以不相容的氧化还原状态存在，即从一个结构域到另一个结构域的电子传输是化学上优选的。然而，受限的网络动力学（由温敏网络调制）和胶体内的空间分离阻碍了自交换，导致整个网络的电化学电位梯度。因此，温度变化可以被用作触发器以随意释放所存储的能量。这首先以热的形式发生，但也讨论了以热以外的其他形式收集能量的策略。

This proposal deals with the question, whether single microgels can be suitable carriers for energy in terms of nonequilibrium structures. For this purpose, electroactive, compartmentalized microgels are investigated that are based on core-shell architectures. Different electroactive groups will be embedded in different domains of the microgel. By a specialized sample preparation involving temperature adjustment and chemical and/or electrochemical oxidation/reduction sequences, the domains of a single microgel are present in incompatible redox states, i.e. the electron transport from one domain to the other domain is thermodynamically preferred. However, the restricted network dynamics (modulated by the thermoresponsive network) and the spatial separation within the colloid hampers the self-exchange leading to an electrochemical potential gradient throughout the network. Hence, temperature changes can be utilized as trigger to release the stored energy at will. This happens first in form of heat, but strategies for harvesting energy in other forms than heat are also discussed.