Recent progress on hydrogel actuators

Feng-mei Cheng, Hong-xu Chen and Hai-dong Li

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2021, 9, 1762
DOI: 10.1039/D0TB02524K

Electronic whiskers for velocity sensing based on the liquid metal hysteresis effect

Xinlong Sun, Jun-Heng Fu, Hongbin Zhao, Wentao Xiang, Fei Zhan, Chenkun Sun, Shousheng Tang, Lei Wang and Jing Liu

Soft Matter, 2022, 18, 9153
DOI: 10.1039/D2SM01175A

Transportation and release of Janus micromotors by two-stage rocket hydrogel

Yuling Liang, Hui Wang, Dahua Yao, Yunhua Chen, Yonghong Deng and Chaoyang Wang

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017, 5, 18442
DOI: 10.1039/C7TA06032G

Macroscopic supramolecular assembly to fabricate multiplexed DNA patterns for potential application in DNA chips

Mengjiao Cheng, Yingwei Zhang, Song Wang and Feng Shi

Nanoscale, 2017, 9, 17220
DOI: 10.1039/C7NR07059D

Recyclable silicone elastic light-triggered actuator with a reconfigurable Janus structure and self-healable performance

Xiaowei Xu, Xinyue Hao, Jing Hu, Weisheng Gao, Nanying Ning, Bing Yu, Liqun Zhang and Ming Tian

Polym. Chem., 2022, 13, 829
DOI: 10.1039/D1PY01632F

Mimosa inspired bilayer hydrogel actuator functioning in multi-environments

Jing Zheng, Peng Xiao, Xiaoxia Le, Wei Lu, Patrick Théato, Chunxin Ma, Binyang Du, Jiawei Zhang, Youju Huang and Tao Chen

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2018, 6, 1320
DOI: 10.1039/C7TC04879C

A self-deformable gel system with asymmetric shape change based on a gradient structure

Jie Li, Xiuchen Li, Guohe Xu, Zhaohui Zheng, Jinni Deng and Xiaobin Ding

Chem. Commun., 2018, 54, 11594
DOI: 10.1039/C8CC05893H

Adaptable ionic liquid-containing supramolecular hydrogel with multiple sensations at subzero temperatures

Bo Li, Lei Kan, Chao Li, Wei Li, Yihan Zhang, Rui Li, Hao Wei, Xinyue Zhang and Ning Ma

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2021, 9, 1044
DOI: 10.1039/D0TC04992A

Dual light-responsive shape transformations of a nanocomposite hydrogel sheet enabled by in situ etching shaped plasmonic nanoparticles

Hongyu Guo, Qiao Ding, Yang Yang, Chenguang Du and Zhihong Nie

RSC Adv., 2024, 14, 34804
DOI: 10.1039/D4RA03024A

Bilayer hydrogel mixed composites that respond to multiple stimuli for environmental sensing and underwater actuation

Yu Cheng, Chao Huang, Dian Yang, Kai Ren and Jie Wei

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2018, 6, 8170
DOI: 10.1039/C8TB02242A

Ctenophore-inspired hydrogels for efficient and repeatable underwater specific adhesion to biotic surfaces

Xing Su, Yang Luo, Zhuoling Tian, Zuoying Yuan, Yiming Han, Runfeng Dong, Liang Xu, Yuting Feng, Xiaozhi Liu and Jianyong Huang

Mater. Horiz., 2020, 7, 2651
DOI: 10.1039/D0MH01344G

Thermo- and photo-responsive composite hydrogels with programmed deformations

Zhi Jian Wang, Chen Yu Li, Xin Yu Zhao, Zi Liang Wu and Qiang Zheng

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2019, 7, 1674
DOI: 10.1039/C8TB02896F

Superior water anchoring hydrogel validated by colorimetric sensing

Xiaoyun Hu, Zhiwei Ma, Jiguang Li, Zhenzhen Cai, Yushu Li, Baiyi Zu and Xincun Dou

Mater. Horiz., 2020, 7, 3250
DOI: 10.1039/D0MH01383H

Swelling and deswelling driven multimaterials silicone hopper with superior specific power and energy

Sizi Hu, Chengzhi Li, Haochen Wang, Max D. Mylo, Jing Becker, Bo Cao, Claas Müller, Christoph Eberl and Kaiyang Yin

Materials & Design, 2024, 241, 112960
DOI: 10.1016/j.matdes.2024.112960

Recent Progress in Biomimetic Anisotropic Hydrogel Actuators

Xiaoxia Le, Wei Lu, Jiawei Zhang and Tao Chen

Advanced Science, 2019, 6
DOI: 10.1002/advs.201801584

Autonomous Shapeshifting Hydrogels via Temporal Programming of Photoswitchable Dynamic Network

Chujun Ni, Di Chen, Yue Zhang, Tao Xie and Qian Zhao

Chem. Mater., 2021, 33, 2046
DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.0c04375

Reversible Shape-Shifting of an Ionic Strength Responsive Hydrogel Enabled by Programmable Network Anisotropy

Xin Wen, Yue Zhang, Di Chen and Qian Zhao

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2022, 14, 40344
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c11693

Mechanical Assembly of Thermo‐Responsive Polymer‐Based Untethered Shape‐Morphing Structures

Wei Wang

Macro Materials & Eng, 2020, 305
DOI: 10.1002/mame.201900568

Bioinspired Anisotropic Hydrogel Actuators with On–Off Switchable and Color‐Tunable Fluorescence Behaviors

Chunxin Ma, Wei Lu, Xuxu Yang, Jiang He, Xiaoxia Le, Li Wang, Jiawei Zhang, Michael J. Serpe, Youju Huang and Tao Chen

Adv Funct Materials, 2018, 28
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201704568

Bioinspired Synergistic Fluorescence‐Color‐Switchable Polymeric Hydrogel Actuators

Shuxin Wei, Wei Lu, Xiaoxia Le, Chunxin Ma, Han Lin, Baoyi Wu, Jiawei Zhang, Patrick Theato and Tao Chen

Angew Chem Int Ed, 2019, 58, 16243
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201908437

Hydrogels for bioinspired soft robots

Chang Seo Park, Yong-Woo Kang, Hyeonuk Na and Jeong-Yun Sun

Progress in Polymer Science, 2024, 150, 101791
DOI: 10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2024.101791

Cell‐Laden Multiple‐Step and Reversible 4D Hydrogel Actuators to Mimic Dynamic Tissue Morphogenesis

Aixiang Ding, Oju Jeon, Rui Tang, Yu Bin Lee, Sang Jin Lee and Eben Alsberg

Advanced Science, 2021, 8
DOI: 10.1002/advs.202004616

Arbitrarily and repeatedly programmable multi-layer soft actuators via “stress-caching”

Ziwei Liang, Saihua Jiang, Haocheng Jiang, Xiaojiong Zhao, Binjie Jin, Guohua Chen and Siuming Lo

Chemical Engineering Journal, 2023, 451, 139054
DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2022.139054

Construction of 3D Shape‐Changing Hydrogels via Light‐Modulated Internal Stress Fields

Zihan Xu, Wenxin Fan, Jinghua Duan, Yanzhi Xia, Zhihong Nie and Kunyan Sui

Energy & Environ Materials, 2023, 6
DOI: 10.1002/eem2.12375

Weather-Manipulated Smart Broadband Electromagnetic Metamaterials

Kai-Lun Zhang, Xiao-Dong Cheng, Ya-Jing Zhang, Mingji Chen, Haosen Chen, Yazheng Yang, Wei-Li Song and Daining Fang

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2018, 10, 40815
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b15643

Microcapsules with Distinct Dual-Layer Shells and Their Applications for the Encapsulation, Preservation, and Slow Release of Hydrophilic Small Molecules

Yuandu Hu and Juan Pérez-Mercader

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2019, 11, 41640
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b13699

Reversible Snapping of Constrained Anisotropic Hydrogels Upon Light Stimulations

Chen Fei Dai, Qing Li Zhu, Olena Khoruzhenko, Michael Thelen, Huiying Bai, Josef Breu, Miao Du, Qiang Zheng and Zi Liang Wu

Advanced Science, 2024, 11
DOI: 10.1002/advs.202402824

Transparent and UV Blocking Structural Colored Hydrogel for Contact Lenses

Xiuqing Shen, Jiayuan Du, Jiaxin Sun, Jia Guo, Xinhua Hu and Changchun Wang

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2020, 12, 39639
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c10763

Soft, Bistable Actuators for Reconfigurable 3D Electronics

Zhou Chen, Shangcheng Kong, Yunhu He, Shenghui Yi, Guo Liu, Zhengyi Mao, Mengke Huo, Chi Hou Chan and Jian Lu

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2021, 13, 41968
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c08722

Spontaneous and rapid electro-actuated snapping of constrained polyelectrolyte hydrogels

Chen Yu Li, Si Yu Zheng, Xing Peng Hao, Wei Hong, Qiang Zheng and Zi Liang Wu

Sci. Adv., 2022, 8
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm9608

Programming the Shape Transformation of a Composite Hydrogel Sheet via Erasable and Rewritable Nanoparticle Patterns

Hongyu Guo, Jian Cheng, Kuikun Yang, Kerry Demella, Teng Li, Srinivasa R. Raghavan and Zhihong Nie

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2019, 11, 42654
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b16610

Thermally-Induced Actuation of Magnetic Nanocomposites Based on Oligo(ω-Pentadecalactone) and Covalently Integrated Magnetic Nanoparticles

M. Yasar Razzaq, M. Behl and A. Lendlein

MRS Advances, 2018, 3, 3783
DOI: 10.1557/adv.2018.613

Temperature-Responsive, Manipulable Cavitary Hydrogel Containers by Macroscopic Spatial Surface-Interior Separation

Xiaojie Wang, Yang Yang, Heqin Huang and Kai Zhang

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2021, 13, 1573
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c19448

Site‐Specific Pre‐Swelling‐Directed Morphing Structures of Patterned Hydrogels

Zhi Jian Wang, Wei Hong, Zi Liang Wu and Qiang Zheng

Angewandte Chemie, 2017, 129, 16190
DOI: 10.1002/ange.201708926

Novel coating system on poly(ethylene terephthalate) fabrics with mechanically durable liquid-repellence: Application as flexible materials with striking loading capacity

Jiawei Li, Xiaojie Yan, Lingmin Yi, Ying Cai and Zhendong Tang

Applied Surface Science, 2018, 457, 332
DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2018.06.256

Programmed Transformations of Strong Polyvinyl Alcohol/Sodium Alginate Hydrogels via Ionic Crosslink Lithography

Xuefeng Li, Danni Xu, Hui Wang, Chunjie Gong, Haiyan Li, Yiwan Huang, Shijun Long and Dapeng Li

Macromol. Rapid Commun., 2020, 41
DOI: 10.1002/marc.202000127

Precisely Defining Local Gradients of Stimuli‐Responsive Hydrogels for Complex 2D‐to‐4D Shape Evolutions

Jincai Yin, Wenxin Fan, Zihan Xu, Jinghua Duan, Yanzhi Xia, Zhihong Nie and Kunyan Sui

Small, 2022, 18
DOI: 10.1002/smll.202104440

Microfluidic switches driven by mechanically guided multistable buckling

Guoquan Luo, Liping Shi, Honglie Song, Mingwei Li, Yesheng Zhong, Xiaodong He and Haoran Fu

Extreme Mechanics Letters, 2022, 54, 101763
DOI: 10.1016/j.eml.2022.101763

Hydrogel Rivet with Unidirectional Shape Morphing for Flexible Mechanical Assembly

April L. Ye, Haozhe Zhang, Baoyi Wu, Huanhuan Lu, Muqing Si, Kaihang Zhang and Tao Chen

Macromol. Rapid Commun., 2024, 45
DOI: 10.1002/marc.202300586

Leveraging Bioinspired Structural Constraints for Tunable and Programmable Snapping Dynamics in High‐Speed Soft Actuators

Jiao Wang, Tonghui Zhao, Yangyang Fan, Huimin Wu and Jiu‐an Lv

Adv Funct Materials, 2023, 33
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202209798

Accounting for uncertainties in ML-based design of shape-morphing elements

Silvia Monchetti, Roberto Brighenti and Noy Cohen

International Journal of Solids and Structures, 2025, 321, 113539
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijsolstr.2025.113539

An autonomous snapper featuring adaptive actuation and embodied intelligence

Duygu S. Polat, Zihua Chen, Samüel A. M. Weima, Satoshi Aya and Danqing Liu

Sci. Adv., 2025, 11
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adu4268

Autonomous Off‐Equilibrium Morphing Pathways of a Supramolecular Shape‐Memory Polymer

Wenjun Peng, Guogao Zhang, Qian Zhao and Tao Xie

Advanced Materials, 2021, 33
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202102473

Differential diffusion driven far-from-equilibrium shape-shifting of hydrogels

Yue Zhang, Kangkang Liu, Tao Liu, Chujun Ni, Di Chen, Jiamei Guo, Chang Liu, Jian Zhou, Zheng Jia, Qian Zhao, Pengju Pan and Tao Xie

Nat Commun, 2021, 12
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26464-9

A light-driven artificial flytrap

Owies M. Wani, Hao Zeng and Arri Priimagi

Nat Commun, 2017, 8
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15546

Biomimetic anisotropic hydrogels: Advanced fabrication strategies, extraordinary functionalities, and broad applications

Md. Tariful Islam Mredha and Insu Jeon

Progress in Materials Science, 2022, 124, 100870
DOI: 10.1016/j.pmatsci.2021.100870

Self‐Correction Strategy for Precise, Massive, and Parallel Macroscopic Supramolecular Assembly

Guannan Ju, Fengli Guo, Qian Zhang, Alexander J. C. Kuehne, Shuxun Cui, Mengjiao Cheng and Feng Shi

Advanced Materials, 2017, 29
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201702444

A Highly Sensitive, Breathable, and Biocompatible Wearable Sensor Based on Nanofiber Membrane for Pressure and Humidity Monitoring

Shanshan Ding, Yaoyuan Lou, Zehao Niu, Jie Wang, Xu Jin, Jiayu Ma, Bin Wang and Xiuyan Li

Macro Materials & Eng, 2022, 307
DOI: 10.1002/mame.202200233

Smart mechano-hydro-dielectric coupled hybrid sponges for multifunctional sensors

Yana Wang, Kai-Lun Zhang, Bao-Xun Zhang, Chao-Jie Ma, Wei-Li Song, Zhi-Ling Hou and Mingji Chen

Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 2018, 270, 239
DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2018.05.023

Finding transition state and minimum energy path of bistable elastic continua through energy landscape explorations

Guangchao Wan, Samuel J. Avis, Zizheng Wang, Xueju Wang, Halim Kusumaatmaja and Teng Zhang

Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 2024, 183, 105503
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmps.2023.105503

Advances in 4D Printing: Materials and Applications

Xiao Kuang, Devin J. Roach, Jiangtao Wu, Craig M. Hamel, Zhen Ding, Tiejun Wang, Martin L. Dunn and Hang Jerry Qi

Adv Funct Materials, 2019, 29
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201805290

Dual Cross-Linked Hydrogels That Undergo Structural Transformation via Selective Triggered Depolymerization

Doyoung Jung, Kyoung Min Lee, Tomohiro Tojo, Yuree Oh, Hyeonseok Yoon and Hyungwoo Kim

Chem. Mater., 2019, 31, 6249
DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.9b02365

Leveraging Instabilities in Multifunctional Soft Materials: A Cutting Edge Review

Prathik Narayanan, Ratnadeep Pramanik and Arunachalakasi Arockiarajan

Adv Eng Mater, 2025
DOI: 10.1002/adem.202500125

Actuators assembled from hydrogel blocks of various shapes via condensation reactions

Hongyao Ding, Xiaoxu Liang, Si Yu Zheng, Qiao Wang, Zongjin Li and Guoxing Sun

Materials Chemistry and Physics, 2020, 253, 123332
DOI: 10.1016/j.matchemphys.2020.123332

A Magnet‐Driven Soft Bistable Actuator

Zhou Chen, Shangcheng Kong, Yunhu He, Shiting Chen, Wanying Wang, Lihan Jin, Shun Zhang, Ying Hong, Lulu Pan, Haikun Wu, Youneng Xie, Changhong Linghu, Zhengyi Mao, Zhengbao Yang, Chi Hou Chan, Jizhou Song and Jian Lu

Adv Funct Materials, 2024, 34
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202311498

Materials, design, and fabrication of shape programmable polymers

Xiao Kuang, Devin J Roach, Craig M Hamel, Kai Yu and H Jerry Qi

Multifunct. Mater., 2020, 3, 032002
DOI: 10.1088/2399-7532/aba1d9

Dielectric Polymer with Designable Large Motion under Low Electric Field

Chengcheng Zhang, Binjie Jin, Xunuo Cao, Zheqi Chen, Wusha Miao, Xuxu Yang, Yingwu Luo, Tiefeng Li and Tao Xie

Advanced Materials, 2022, 34
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202206393

Bistable and Multistable Actuators for Soft Robots: Structures, Materials, and Functionalities

Yinding Chi, Yanbin Li, Yao Zhao, Yaoye Hong, Yichao Tang and Jie Yin

Advanced Materials, 2022, 34
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202110384

Cooperative deformations of periodically patterned hydrogels

Zhi Jian Wang, Chao Nan Zhu, Wei Hong, Zi Liang Wu and Qiang Zheng

Sci. Adv., 2017, 3
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1700348

Hydro-sensitive sandwich structures for self-tunable smart electromagnetic shielding

Yana Wang, Xiao-Dong Cheng, Wei-Li Song, Chao-Jie Ma, Xing-Ming Bian and Mingji Chen

Chemical Engineering Journal, 2018, 344, 342
DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2018.03.097

Multiresponsive Reversible Deformation of Patterned Polyacrylamide Hydrogel Constructed by a Computer-Assisted Dispenser

Xiao-Qin Zhang, Di Wu, Jun-Bo Hou, Jun-Feng Feng, Duo Ke, Sheng Zhang and Bang-Jing Li

ACS Appl. Polym. Mater., 2019, 1, 1187
DOI: 10.1021/acsapm.9b00196

Programmable Reversible Shape Transformation of Hydrogels Based on Transient Structural Anisotropy

Kangkang Liu, Yue Zhang, Heqing Cao, Haonan Liu, Yuhui Geng, Wenhua Yuan, Jian Zhou, Zi Liang Wu, Guorong Shan, Yongzhong Bao, Qian Zhao, Tao Xie and Pengju Pan

Advanced Materials, 2020, 32
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202001693

Spatially and Reversibly Actuating Soft Gel Structure by Harnessing Multimode Elastic Instabilities

Yingzhi Liu, Ansu Sun, Sreepathy Sridhar, Zhenghong Li, Zhuofan Qin, Ji Liu, Xue Chen, Haibao Lu, Ben Zhong Tang and Ben Bin Xu

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2021, 13, 36361
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c10431

Effects of thermo-mechanical behavior and hinge geometry on folding response of shape memory polymer sheets

Russell W. Mailen, Michael D. Dickey, Jan Genzer and Mohammed Zikry

Journal of Applied Physics, 2017, 122
DOI: 10.1063/1.5000040

Bistability in popper-like shells programmed by geometric defects

Guangchao Wan, Yijie Cai, Yin Liu, Congran Jin, Dong Wang, Shicheng Huang, Nan Hu, John X.J. Zhang and Zi Chen

Extreme Mechanics Letters, 2021, 42, 101065
DOI: 10.1016/j.eml.2020.101065

Multi-stimuli bilayer hydrogel actuator for remotely controllable transportation of droplets

Shuting Shen, Na Pan, Chengfei Liu, Wenxin Fan and Kunyan Sui

Progress in Natural Science: Materials International, 2023, 33, 364
DOI: 10.1016/j.pnsc.2023.08.020

A Dynamically Programmable Hydrogel Surface with Rapid Magnetically Actuated Snapping of Bistable Dome Configurations

Ye Tian, Hao Qi, Zhi Jian Wang, Chen Yu Li, Shaowen Zhu, Yanshen Cai, Ye Qiu, Yi Song, Aiping Liu and Huaping Wu

Adv Funct Materials, 2025, 35
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202508885

Stimuli-responsive hydrogel sponge for ultrafast responsive actuator

Yukun Jian, Baoyi Wu, Xuxu Yang, Yu Peng, Dachuan Zhang, Yang Yang, Huiyu Qiu, Huanhuan Lu, Jiawei Zhang and Tao Chen

Supramolecular Materials, 2022, 1, 100002
DOI: 10.1016/j.supmat.2021.100002

Recent progress in PNIPAM-based multi-responsive actuators: A mini-review

Jia Liu, Lei Jiang, Sirui He, Jie Zhang and Wei Shao

Chemical Engineering Journal, 2022, 433, 133496
DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2021.133496

Self‐Sustained Snapping Drives Autonomous Dancing and Motion in Free‐Standing Wavy Rings

Yao Zhao, Yaoye Hong, Fangjie Qi, Yinding Chi, Hao Su and Jie Yin

Advanced Materials, 2023, 35
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202207372

Bistable Structures for Advanced Functional Systems

Yunteng Cao, Masoud Derakhshani, Yuhui Fang, Guoliang Huang and Changyong Cao

Adv Funct Materials, 2021, 31
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202106231

Magneto-sensitive bistable soft actuators: Experiments, simulations, and applications

Xue Hou, Yin Liu, Guangchao Wan, Zhe Xu, Chunsheng Wen, Hui Yu, John X. J. Zhang, Jianbao Li and Zi Chen

Applied Physics Letters, 2018, 113
DOI: 10.1063/1.5062490

Photo- and Thermosensitive Polymer Membrane with a Tunable Microstructure Doped with Graphene Oxide Nanosheets and Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) for the Application of Light-Cleaning

Rong Cao, Mengmeng Qin, Chang Liu, Shuangwen Li, Peili Guo, Guoying Han, Xiaohui Hu, Wei Feng and Li Chen

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2020, 12, 14352
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c00410

Photo‐Controlled Macroscopic Self‐Assembly Based on Photo‐Switchable Hetero‐Complementary Quadruple Hydrogen Bonds

Shi‐Tao Han, Hong‐Ying Duan, Lan‐Yun Chen, Tian‐Guang Zhan, Li‐Juan Liu, Li‐Chun Kong and Kang‐Da Zhang

Chemistry An Asian Journal, 2021, 16, 3886
DOI: 10.1002/asia.202101076

Soft Micro- and Nanorobotics

Chengzhi Hu, Salvador Pané and Bradley J. Nelson

Annu. Rev. Control Robot. Auton. Syst., 2018, 1, 53
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-control-060117-104947

Dynamic Covalent Polymer Networks: A Molecular Platform for Designing Functions beyond Chemical Recycling and Self-Healing

Ning Zheng, Yang Xu, Qian Zhao and Tao Xie

Chem. Rev., 2021, 121, 1716
DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c00938

Dual-gradient enabled ultrafast biomimetic snapping of hydrogel materials

Wenxin Fan, Caiyun Shan, Hongyu Guo, Jianwei Sang, Rui Wang, Ranran Zheng, Kunyan Sui and Zhihong Nie

Sci. Adv., 2019, 5
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aav7174

A hydrogel dressing with tunable critical temperature and photothermal modulating melittin release for multiply antibacterial treatment

Xianhao Su, Yonghai Feng, Hui Shi, Fenghua Wang, Zengkai Wang, Shuai Hou, Xiaolu Song, Juan Yang and Lei Liu

International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2023, 239, 124272
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.124272

3D Fluorescent Hydrogel Origami for Multistage Data Security Protection

Yuchong Zhang, Xiaoxia Le, Yukun Jian, Wei Lu, Jiawei Zhang and Tao Chen

Adv Funct Materials, 2019, 29
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201905514

A comprehensive review of 4D-printed thermo-responsive hydrogel-based smart actuators for solar steam generation: Advanced design, modeling, manufacturing, and finite element analysis

Nitai Chandra Adak and Wonoh Lee

Progress in Materials Science, 2025, 148, 101377
DOI: 10.1016/j.pmatsci.2024.101377

Phase transition and optimal actuation of active bilayer structures

Yin Liu, Yunteng Cao, Xi-Qiao Feng and Changyong Cao

Extreme Mechanics Letters, 2019, 29, 100467
DOI: 10.1016/j.eml.2019.100467

Bioinspired Synergistic Fluorescence‐Color‐Switchable Polymeric Hydrogel Actuators

Shuxin Wei, Wei Lu, Xiaoxia Le, Chunxin Ma, Han Lin, Baoyi Wu, Jiawei Zhang, Patrick Theato and Tao Chen

Angewandte Chemie, 2019, 131, 16389
DOI: 10.1002/ange.201908437

Untethered Hydrogel Actuators Generated by an Interfacial Diffusion Reaction toward Pick-and-Place Tasks

Xiaozhuo Chen, Yan Wang, Nan Hai, Jianlei Lu, Xi Chen and Jiawei Zhang

ACS Appl. Polym. Mater., 2024, 6, 5413
DOI: 10.1021/acsapm.4c00615

Spontaneous snap-through of strongly buckled liquid crystalline networks

Duygu Sezen Polat, Michał Zmyślony, John S. Biggins and Danqing Liu

Extreme Mechanics Letters, 2024, 68, 102149
DOI: 10.1016/j.eml.2024.102149

Antifreezing and Stretchable Organohydrogels as Soft Actuators

Yukun Jian, Baoyi Wu, Xiaoxia Le, Yun Liang, Yuchong Zhang, Dachuan Zhang, Ling Zhang, Wei Lu, Jiawei Zhang and Tao Chen

Research, 2019, 2019
DOI: 10.34133/2019/2384347

Rapid-Responsive Hydrogel Actuators with Hierarchical Structures: Strategies and Applications

Zhen Han and Jiawei Zhang

ACS Appl. Polym. Mater., 2023, 5, 4605
DOI: 10.1021/acsapm.3c00325

One-Pot and One-Step Fabrication of Salt-Responsive Bilayer Hydrogels with 2D and 3D Shape Transformations

Xiaomin He, Dong Zhang, Jiahui Wu, Yang Wang, Feng Chen, Ping Fan, Mingqiang Zhong, Shengwei Xiao and Jintao Yang

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2019, 11, 25417
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b06691

Integration of biopolymers in polyacrylic acid hydrogels: Innovations and applications in bioresources and bioproducts

Rui Yang, Changlei Xia, Changtong Mei and Jianzhang Li

Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, 2025, 10, 145
DOI: 10.1016/j.jobab.2024.12.005

One-Step Preparation of a Highly Stretchable, Conductive, and Transparent Poly(vinyl alcohol)–Phytic Acid Hydrogel for Casual Writing Circuits

Shuai Zhang, Yihan Zhang, Bo Li, Peng Zhang, Lei Kan, Guojun Wang, Hao Wei, Xinyue Zhang and Ning Ma

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2019, 11, 32441
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b12626

Pulsating self-snapping of a liquid crystal elastomer bilayer spherical shell under steady illumination

Dali Ge and Kai Li

International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 2022, 233, 107646
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmecsci.2022.107646

Autonomous snapping and jumping polymer gels

Yongjin Kim, Jay van den Berg and Alfred J. Crosby

Nat. Mater., 2021, 20, 1695
DOI: 10.1038/s41563-020-00909-w

3D bioprinting of tissue units with mesenchymal stem cells, retaining their proliferative and differentiating potential, in polyphosphate-containing bio-ink

Meik Neufurth, Shunfeng Wang, Heinz C Schröder, Bilal Al-Nawas, Xiaohong Wang and Werner E G Müller

Biofabrication, 2022, 14, 015016
DOI: 10.1088/1758-5090/ac3f29

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-based smart hydrogels: Design, properties and applications

Lin Tang, Ling Wang, Xiao Yang, Yiyu Feng, Yu Li and Wei Feng

Progress in Materials Science, 2021, 115, 100702
DOI: 10.1016/j.pmatsci.2020.100702

Bioinspired bistable dielectric elastomer actuator based on low-melting-point alloy phase change regulation

Qinyang Fan, Chenguang Niu, Jian Tang, Xiaoyan Xiong and Jibao Guo

Smart Mater. Struct., 2023, 32, 055016
DOI: 10.1088/1361-665X/acc8a6

Bio-inspired and computer-supported design of modulated shape changes in polymer materials

Johan Bäckemo, Yue Liu and Andreas Lendlein

MRS Communications, 2021, 11, 462
DOI: 10.1557/s43579-021-00056-6

Polyampholyte Hydrogels with pH Modulated Shape Memory and Spontaneous Actuation

Yuancheng Zhang, Jiexin Liao, Tao Wang, Weixiang Sun and Zhen Tong

Adv Funct Materials, 2018, 28
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201707245

Site‐Specific Pre‐Swelling‐Directed Morphing Structures of Patterned Hydrogels

Zhi Jian Wang, Wei Hong, Zi Liang Wu and Qiang Zheng

Angew Chem Int Ed, 2017, 56, 15974
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201708926

Soft Artificial Bladder Detrusor

Xuxu Yang, Chengrui An, Shuting Liu, Tingyu Cheng, Varitsara Bunpetch, Yixiao Liu, Shurong Dong, Shijian Li, Xiaohui Zou, Tiefeng Li, Hongwei Ouyang, Zhaohui Wu and Wei Yang

Adv Healthcare Materials, 2018, 7
DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201701014

MXene‐Based Humidity‐Responsive Actuators: Preparation and Properties

Jingfeng Wang, Haoxiang Ma, Yuyan Liu, Zhimin Xie and Zhimin Fan

ChemPlusChem, 2021, 86, 406
DOI: 10.1002/cplu.202000828

Synergistic fluorescent hydrogel actuators with selective spatial shape/color‐changing behaviors via interfacial supramolecular assembly

Wei Lu, Ruijia Wang, Muqing Si, Yi Zhang, Shuangshuang Wu, Ning Zhu, Wenqin Wang and Tao Chen

SmartMat, 2024, 5
DOI: 10.1002/smm2.1190

Complex-chamber hydrogel actuators based on strong interfacial adhesion for fluid-driven multi-degree-of-freedom motions

Feibo Li, Zhaoshuo Wang, Ping Li, Yanming Wang, Zhixiao Zhang, Xiying Fu, Zongqi Li, Junxian Hou and Huanjun Li

Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 2023, 383, 133608
DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2023.133608

A rigid thick Miura-Ori structure driven by bistable carbon fibre-reinforced polymer cylindrical shell

Zheng Zhang, Weili Ma, Helong Wu, Huaping Wu, Shaofei Jiang and Guozhong Chai

Composites Science and Technology, 2018, 167, 411
DOI: 10.1016/j.compscitech.2018.08.033

Pulling actuation enabled by harnessing the torsional instability of hyperelastic soft rods

Wei Zhou and Zheng Jia

Extreme Mechanics Letters, 2022, 55, 101807
DOI: 10.1016/j.eml.2022.101807

Precise Macroscopic Supramolecular Assemblies: Strategies and Applications

Mengjiao Cheng and Feng Shi

Chemistry A European J, 2020, 26, 15763
DOI: 10.1002/chem.202001881

Self-Repeatable snapping liquid–crystal-elastomer actuator

Hyun Seung Choi and Dae Seok Kim

Chemical Engineering Journal, 2024, 500, 156744
DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2024.156744

Shape changing hydrogels and their applications as soft actuators

Xin Peng and Huiliang Wang

J Polym Sci B Polym Phys, 2018, 56, 1314
DOI: 10.1002/polb.24724

Programmed Deformations of 3D‐Printed Tough Physical Hydrogels with High Response Speed and Large Output Force

Si Yu Zheng, Yangyang Shen, Fengbo Zhu, Jun Yin, Jin Qian, Jianzhong Fu, Zi Liang Wu and Qiang Zheng

Adv Funct Materials, 2018, 28
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201803366

A robust Riks-like path following method for strain-actuated snap-through phenomena in soft solids

Yin Liu, Shenyang Liang, Qun Huang, Heng Hu, Yonggang Zheng, Hongwu Zhang and Qian Shao

Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 2017, 323, 416
DOI: 10.1016/j.cma.2017.05.010

Design principles of hair-like structures as biological machines

Madeleine Seale, Cathal Cummins, Ignazio Maria Viola, Enrico Mastropaolo and Naomi Nakayama

J. R. Soc. Interface., 2018, 15, 20180206
DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2018.0206

Controllable, Bidirectional Water/Organic Vapors Responsive Actuators Fabricated by One‐Step Thiol‐Ene Click Polymerization

Yanjiao Song, Jianghua He and Yuetao Zhang

Macromol. Rapid Commun., 2020, 41
DOI: 10.1002/marc.202000456

Self-Healing and Shape Memory Linear Polyurethane Based on Disulfide Linkages with Excellent Mechanical Property

Lei Ling, Jinhui Li, Guoping Zhang, Rong Sun and Ching-Ping Wong

Macromol. Res., 2018, 26, 365
DOI: 10.1007/s13233-018-6037-9

Stimuli-induced bi-directional hydrogel unimorph actuators

Shanliangzi Liu, Elisa Boatti, Katia Bertoldi and Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio

Extreme Mechanics Letters, 2018, 21, 35
DOI: 10.1016/j.eml.2018.03.001

Voltage-actuated snap-through in bistable piezoelectric thin films: a computational study

Yin Liu, Wei Zeng, Guangchao Wan, Lin Dong, Zhe Xu, John X J Zhang and Zi Chen

Smart Mater. Struct., 2019, 28, 085021
DOI: 10.1088/1361-665X/aae8be