4D-printed Shape-Shifting Architectures That Mimic Plant Movements

3D printing has now been taken a stage further, thanks to the work of scientists at Harvard University. It is now possible to produce a 4D composite structure that will alter shape when placed in water. The idea came after it was realised that plants will alter shape as a result of an environmental stimulus. The product is printed using hydrogel composite ink, and this has aligned cellulose fibrils included, and it is this that will allow anisotropic swelling.

Jennifer Lewis claims that this is an advance in the production of materials that can be programmed and this is a stage further as items can be produced that can be transformed. The product being printed is set to copy the shape changes that plant organs will follow

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Nature Materials have reported that the people involved are A. Sydney Gladman, who specializes in polymer printing and composites, and Elisabetta Matsumoto who is a postdoctoral fellow at the Wyss.

Gladman explains that by using just one composite ink and printing at one stage, there can be more complexity than in any other system, and this is achieved by changing the print path.

The method was inspired by the way plants change shape over time in response to environmental stimuli. This orchid-shaped structure is printed with a hydrogel composite ink containing aligned cellulose fibrils, which enable anisotropic swelling. A proprietary mathematical model developed by the team precisely predicts how the fibrils will swell in water. After printing, the 4D orchid is immersed in water to activate its shape transformation. Credit: A.S. Gladman, E. Matsumoto, L.K. Sanders, and J.A. Lewis / Wyss Institute at Harvard University

The most remarkable thing about this form of 4D printing is that now and shape can be designed, and many materials can be used. Once done, there is a new platform suitable for printing and putting together microscale structures that can be utilized for many medical and industrial applications. Funding came from some sources including the Army Research Office.

Story Via; Wyss Institute at Harvard University

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