Digital printing of shape-morphing natural materials

Abstract

We demonstrate how programmable shape evolution and deformation can be induced in plant-based natural materials through standard digital printing technologies. With nonallergenic pollen paper as the substrate material, we show how specific geometrical features and architectures can be custom designed through digital printing of patterns to modulate hygrophobicity, geometry, and complex shapes. These autonomously hygromorphing configurations can be “frozen” by postprocessing coatings to meet the needs of a wide spectrum of uses and applications. Through computational simulations involving the finite element method and accompanying experiments, we develop quantitative insights and a general framework for creating complex shapes in eco-friendly natural materials with potential sustainable applications for scalable manufacturing.

Recyclable and Reusable Natural Plant‐Based Paper for Repeated Digital Printing and Unprinting

“…As demonstrated in our previous work, [ 23,27 ] varying RH can alter the configurational, morphological, and mechanical characteristics of the original pollen paper. However, insensitivity to moisture is considered essential for the practical use of printing substrates.…”

Topographical Design and Thermal-Induced Organization of Interfacial Water Structure to Regulate the Wetting State of Surfaces

“…Furthermore, these findings offer a new route to design thermo-responsive colloids and surfaces (or other stimuli-responsive systems) for a wide range of applications, such as liquid-gated multiphase separation, 9 water purification and harvesting, 10 − 12 biomedical devices, 13 and printing. 14 …”

“…This study provides fundamental insight and understanding into the relationship between the interfacial water structure and surface wettability transition. Furthermore, these findings offer a new route to design thermo-responsive colloids and surfaces (or other stimuli-responsive systems) for a wide range of applications, such as liquid-gated multiphase separation, water purification and harvesting, − biomedical devices, and printing …”

Phototunable, Reconfigurable, and Complex Shape Transformation of Fe3+-Containing Bilayer Polymer Materials

“…In comparison, bilayer polymer films with different mechanical responses of the two layers have been widely used for the fabrication of shape-morphing materials. − Nevertheless, these bilayer-structured shape-morphing materials only showed shape transformation in the mean curvature, leading to limited types of shape morphing, for example, folding, rolling, and helixing. In recent years, bilayer shape-morphing materials with an active layer and a custom-patterned inactive layer have attracted much research interest − since this bilayer patterning strategy can be used for producing scalable and complex shape transformations. One of the important advances achieved by Lewis, Mahadevan, and co-workers is the 4D printing of bilayers containing stiff cellulose fibrils for the swelling-induced formation of various 3D structures with controllable mean curvatures and Gaussian curvatures .…”

“…One of the important advances achieved by Lewis, Mahadevan, and co-workers is the 4D printing of bilayers containing stiff cellulose fibrils for the swelling-induced formation of various 3D structures with controllable mean curvatures and Gaussian curvatures . This bilayer patterning strategy is promising for realizing more complex shape transformation, although experimental realization is still challenging. ,,− …”