Tech Briefs Magazine - May 2021 - 41

Pollen-Based Paper Bends and Curls in Response to Humidity
The paper-like material could be useful in soft robots, sensors, artificial muscles, and
electric generators.
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

S

cientists have created a paper-like material derived from pollen that can
alter its mechanical characteristics in
response to external stimuli. Combined
with digital printing, pollen paper may
hold promise for the fabrication of a new
generation of programmable natural
actuators - components in a machine
that are responsible for moving and controlling a mechanism.
The team demonstrated the paper's
properties by folding it into a flower that
" blooms " in the presence of water vapor.
They also showed a strip of pollen-based
paper that is able to " walk " by adjusting
the material's physical properties.
Much progress has been made in developing bioinspired sensors and actuators
based on engineered synthetic materials
but these materials come with limitations
such as issues with environmental sustainability and relatively high cost. There
remains a critical need to incorporate costeffective and eco-friendly materials. The
pollen paper created from naturally abundant pollen grains responds as an actuator
to changes in environmental humidity.
This process also renders pollen and the
products created from it non-allergenic.
To form the paper, the team first transformed ultra-tough pollen grains from
sunflowers into a pliable, gel-like material
through a process similar to conventional
soap-making. This process includes removing the sticky, oil-based pollen cement
that coats the grain's surface before incubating the pollen in alkaline conditions
for hours. The resulting gel-like material
is then cast into a mold and left to dry,
forming a paper-like material. Using scanning electron microscopy, the scientists

observed that the pollen-based paper
comprises alternating layers of pollen particles, with the top layer significantly
rougher than the bottom layer.
The top surface of the pollen paper,
which appears frosted to the naked eye,

showed remnants of the sunflower pollen
grains' distinct spikes, contributing to its
roughness. The bottom surface, which
takes on a mirror-like surface finish, was
relatively smoother. This structural difference in pollen particle layers means that

Top Surface

Bottom Surface

1 cm

The pollen paper shows a visible difference in
the top and bottom surface.

Tech Briefs, May 2021

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Tech Briefs Magazine - May 2021

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