Table of Contents

Question#1:..........................................................................................................................................2
a) Define and explain the SMART Materials.................................................................................2
Example:.......................................................................................................................................2
Applications:.................................................................................................................................2
Types of SMART Material:..........................................................................................................2
b) Name the materials which are used as SMART Materials.........................................................3
1. Thermochromic pigments:....................................................................................................3
2. Photochromic pigments:.......................................................................................................3
3. Shape memory polymer.........................................................................................................4
4. Shape memory Alloy:............................................................................................................4
5. Hydrogels..............................................................................................................................4
Question#1:

a) Define and explain the SMART Materials.

Smart materials are material designed to react in a controlled and flexible manner, changing some of
their properties due to external stimuli such as mechanical strength or a certain temperature, among
others. Because of their responses, smart material is also known as responsive material.
These are often translated as "active materials" although they may not be more accurate to say,
"reactive materials".

Example:
Sports equipment with air-conditioning valves that respond to heat and humidity by opening them
when the wearer is sweating and closing when the body is cool, adapting structures according to
atmospheric condition such as air, heat or rain, or drugs released into the bloodstream as soon as a
virus is detected.

Applications:
New discoveries that can change our future constantly made from SMART Materials. We are
reviewing some of the most amazing things from the recent years below:
 Synthetic spider:
This material is not only five times stronger than steel, but it is also more durable. Potential uses
include non-abrasive clothing, flammable leather, or waterproof adhesives.
 Shrilk:
Its main component is chitin, a carbohydrate found in krill shells. Made by Harvard University
researchers and considered a suitable replacement for plastic because its rotting time is only two
weeks and serves as a growth stimulant for plants.
 Graphene:
Its potential uses are almost limitless: more autonomous batteries, cheap solar photovoltaic cells,
functional computers, electrical appliances, resistant structures, bionic organs, etc. All of this
happened due to their multiple properties.

Types of SMART Material:

 Piezoelectric materials
 Shape memory materials
 Chromactive materials
 Magnetorheological materials
 Photoactive materials
Piezoelectric materials:
They can convert machine energy into electrical power and vice versa. For example, they change
their composition by reacting to electrical impulses or generating an electric charge by responding
to the pressures applied.
Shape memory materials:
They can change shape, even to return to their original state, when exposed to a heat source,
among other things.
 Chromoactive substances:
They change color when they are exposed to certain temperatures, light, pressure, etc. Nowadays,
they are used in fields such as optics, among others.
Magnetorheological Materials:
They change their positions when exposed to magnetic field. For example, shock absorbers are
currently being used to prevent earthquakes on bridges or high-rise buildings.
Photoactive materials:
There are several types: electroluminescent emit light when fed with electricity, fluorescents emit
light with high intensity and phosphorescent can emit light after the original source is exhausted.

b) Name the materials which are used as SMART Materials.

SMART Materials are materials with flexible properties, which means that they can easily change but
can easily change backwards, depending on the environment. Here are some materials used as
SMART Material:

1. Thermochromic pigments:
Thermochromic pigments change colour at certain
temperatures. Examples include novelty colour-
changing cup, colour-changing spoons, battery
power indicators and forehead thermometers.
The principal thermochromic applications,
developed in the 1970s, were inks or pigments,
either from liquid crystals or from leuco
derivatives

2. Photochromic pigments:
Photochromic pigments when exposed to light it changes color. This can be used on clothing but is
most found in glass photochromic lenses, which darken when ultraviolet light is exposed. This means
that these mirrors act like sunglasses on sunny days, but quickly return to normal mirrors when the
lenses are no longer in the sunlight.

3. Shape memory polymer

Shape memory polymer is a polymer that can be folded from its original state and restored to its
original state when heated. Potential applications for this include sports equipment, such as helmets
and Armor or car bumper, which can be heated to its original position after a minor collision. In
addition, medical stitches can strengthen them as the wound heals.
Most used piezoelectric ceramic today is lead zirconium titanate (PZT). The physical properties of
PZT can be controlled by changing the chemistry of the material and how it is processed.

4. Shape memory Alloy:

Shape memory alloys are a mixture of metals that
return to their original state when heated, like
standing polymers. Also, this type of clever
device can be used in sports and motor vehicles,
as well as in other medical applications, such as
surgery tablets to break a bone fracture. As the
alloy is heated by the body, it uses more
resistance than conventional plates, allowing for
faster healing. For example, nitinol (it is made
from nickel and titanium and its properties were
discovered at the Naval Ordinance Laboratories)
is a mixture of nickel memory and titanium.
SMAs include those based on copper (CuZnAl),
NiAl and FeMnSi, though it should be noted that
the NiTi alloy has by far the most superior
properties.

5. Hydrogels
Hydrogels can absorb 1,000 times more water than they can.
After the water has been absorbed, it can be removed when
the environment is dry. Changes in temperature or pH can
also cause the hydrogel to evaporate. Hydrogel applications
include:

 artificial muscles
 Hair gel
 Expanding snow ‘Magic’
 Granules into the soil to help retain plant water
 Nappies