Key facts
- A new hydrogel system called STERS can change shape over weeks.
- The STERS system uses liquid metal particles and near-infrared light.
- The hydrogel can be programmed for time-dependent shape transformations.
- Applications include flexible tissue engineering, brain-computer interfaces, and humanlike robots.
Chinese researchers have developed a "lifelike" shape-changing hydrogel that could pave the way for next-generation smart devices, including flexible tissue engineering scaffolds, brain-computer interfaces, and humanlike robots. The material, named STERS (spatiotemporally evolving reactive species), was inspired by the dynamic shape changes observed in living organisms.
The STERS system, developed by a team led by DU Xuemin from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, utilizes liquid metal particles to initiate slow, self-sustaining chemical reactions. These reactions, triggered by near-infrared light, generate gradients of reactive species within the hydrogel. This process drives progressive chemical and physical crosslinking, allowing the hydrogel to evolve its shape over periods ranging from minutes to weeks. The system can also sustain reactive species production for up to four weeks after a single light exposure.