Controlled Cooperative Wetting Enabled Heterogeneous Structured 3D Morphing Transducers

A unique microfluidics approach for functional hydrogel patterning with multilayered heterogeneous structures is presented. Prepolymer solution droplets with differentiated sodium acrylate concentrations are dispensed/printed in a wetting-controlled “two-parallel plate” (TPP, like a Hele-Shaw Cell) system. The gelation within the system enables hydrogel bilayer structures with reconfigurable 3D deformations driven by in-plane and through-thickness heterogeneity under stimuli-responsive mask-less swelling/deswelling. The cooperation between swelling mismatch of functional groups results in a higher complexity of 3D reconfiguration in responding to discrete levels of stimulation inputs. This facile patterning technology with an in-built ionic hierarchy can be scaled up/down with advanced transducing functionalities in various fields.