Electrically/Magnetically Dual-Driven Shape- Memory Composites Fabricated by Multi-Material Magnetic Field-Assisted 4D Printing

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are smart materials that enable to transform back to their original shape from the deformed state when subjected to external stimuli. They have shown great potential used as sensors and actuators in diverse applications. However, current research on SMPs primarily focuses on the utilization of a single source of stimuli (e.g., electricity, magnetism, light, etc.), which heavily restricts their potential in complex circumstances. In this study, a novel approach is developed to fabricate multi-layer electrically/magnetically dual-driven shape memory composites (ML-EMSMCs) based on a magnetic field-assisted digital light processing (MF-DLP) 4D printing technique. The fabricated ML-EMSMCs contain alternating high electric conductive layers (up to 5.37 x 10-3 S cm-1) and magnetic responsive layers (10.7 emu g-1), enabling Joule heat-based and high-frequency magnetic field induction-based stimuli. Furthermore, the ML-EMSMCs exhibited excellent shape memory behavior, good formability, and magnetic properties. The developed 4D printing techniques allows for the alignment of magnetic particles with a unidirectional magnetic field, significantly improving their shape recovery speed. The developed electrically/magnetically dual-driven and photocurable SMP composites shed light on the development of actuators and sensors with multiple functionalities. The study proposes a novel approach to fabricate multi-layer electrically/magnetically dual-driven shape memory composites based on a magnetic field-assisted digital light processing 4D printing technique. The aligned magnetic particles increased the shape recovery speed significantly. Electrically/magnetically dual-driven composites are used to fabricate smart manipulators. image