Work

Coupling programmable shape morphing and solvent-fueled propulsion in a soft bicontinuous composite

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Natural organisms often couple reversible shape reconfiguration and autonomous motion to adapt and respond to dynamic environments. However, synthetic soft materials rarely achieve both behaviors within a single platform due to fundamental trade-offs in structural anisotropy, solvent compatibility, and actuation reversibility. Here, we report a bicontinuous, uniaxially aligned liquid crystal elastomer-hydrogel composite (BALCEH) that allows both multi-stimuli shape reconfiguration and solvent-driven self-propulsion. The material integrates hydrophilic and hydrophobic networks, resulting in asymmetric solvent uptake and directional swelling across both aqueous and non-aqueous environments. This architecture supports reversible actuation under humidity, temperature, and organic solvents, governed by the interplay between anisotropic hydrogel expansion and LCE elasticity. BALCEH also achieves sustained Marangoni propulsion, with trajectory programmability through fuel composition and geometry. Additionally, spatial rearrangement of the dual networks imparts adaptive wettability, switching between superoleophobic and superhydrophobic states. By coupling deformation and motion in a single system, BALCEH offers a versatile platform for untethered soft robotics and intelligent, reconfigurable materials. It is challenging to achieve both reversible shape reconfiguration and autonomous motion with a synthetic soft material. Here, the authors report the development of an elastomer-hydrogel composite that shows both behaviors as a result of asymmetric solvent uptake.

Source: Nature Communications

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-69432-x