Dynamic morphological transformations in soft architected materials via buckling instability encoded heterogeneous magnetization

Abstract

The geometric reconfigurations in three-dimensional morphable structures have a wide range of applications in flexible electronic devices and smart systems with unusual mechanical, acoustic, and thermal properties. However, achieving the highly controllable anisotropic transformation and dynamic regulation of architected materials crossing different scales remains challenging. Herein, we develop a magnetic regulation approach that provides an enabling technology to achieve the controllable transformation of morphable structures and unveil their dynamic modulation mechanism as well as potential applications. With buckling instability encoded heterogeneous magnetization profiles inside soft architected materials, spatially and temporally programmed magnetic inputs drive the formation of a variety of anisotropic morphological transformations and dynamic geometric reconfiguration. The introduction of magnetic stimulation could help to predetermine the buckling states of soft architected materials, and enable the formation of definite and controllable buckling states without prolonged magnetic stimulation input. The dynamic modulations can be exploited to build systems with switchable fluidic properties and are demonstrated to achieve capabilities of fluidic manipulation, selective particle trapping, sensitivity-enhanced biomedical analysis, and soft robotics. The work provides new insights to harness the programmable and dynamic morphological transformation of soft architected materials and promises benefits in microfluidics, programmable metamaterials, and biomedical applications.

Magnetic Soft Matter toward Programmable and Multifunctional Miniature Machines

“…In this respect, Xia et al proposed a global magnetization method using the active deformation of magnetic materials. 39 As illustrated in Figure 4b, when the magnetic elastomer absorbs organic solvent, it experiences volumetric swelling and generates buckling transformation under the influence of a bottom constraint. Subsequently, the actively deformed magnetic elastomer is magnetized by applying a pulsed magnetic field, thereby encoding 3D magnetic domains within the soft material.…”

“…(b) Selective particle trapping using magnetic lattice structure. Reproduced with permission from ref . Copyright 2022 Springer Nature.…”

Reprogrammable Magnetic Soft Robots Based on Low Melting Alloys

“…[ 11,12 ] The external magnetic field actuates the magnetic composite by exerting forces and torques on the magnetic microparticles embedded in soft substrates. By introducing the magnetic microparticles into responsive soft substrates such as hydrogel, [ 13,14 ] shape memory polymer, [ 15 ] and liquid crystal elastomer, [ 16 ] various intelligent composites have been developed, showing unique integration of multiple stimuli‐responsiveness. To achieve controllable motility and shape morphing, magnetization profiles in the magnetic composites should be programmed.…”

Modularized microrobot with lock-and-detachable modules for targeted cell delivery in bile duct

“…Alternatively, microrobotic technology, featured by small size and active mobility, offers a minimally invasive and accurately targeted therapeutic method to access hard-to-reach regions inside the human body, which exhibits potential superiority over most conventional medical techniques (7)(8)(9). Microrobots can be driven by harnessing and converting a variety of external energy sources [e.g., chemicals (10), electric field (11), light (12), etc. ], among which magnetically actuated microrobot emerges as one of the most promising techniques for biomedical applications, due to its advantages in remote controllability, safe penetrability through biological tissue, and precise positioning ability (13)(14)(15)(16).…”