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China team develops light-triggered shape-changing hydrogel system
The researchers said the approach enables the hydrogel’s structure to evolve across microscopic to macroscopic scales over minutes to weeks, with single to multiple transformation cycles.
Chinese researchers say they have developed a shape-changing hydrogel that they describe as “lifelike,” designed to evolve its structure over time for future technologies.
According to SCMP Economy, the team created a light-triggered system called STERS that uses liquid metal particles to drive slow, self-sustaining chemical reactions, allowing the hydrogel to change form.
The researchers said the method supports programmable morphological evolution in hydrogels spanning microscopic to macroscopic scales, with transformation timing ranging from minutes to weeks and enabling single to multiple transformation cycles.
SCMP Economy reported that the work was published in the peer-reviewed journal Matter on September 4, with the team pointing to potential applications including flexible tissue engineering scaffolds, brain-computer interfaces, and humanlike robots.