Freestanding 3D Mesostructures, Functional Devices, and Shape-Programmable Systems Based on Mechanically Induced Assembly with Shape Memory Polymers

Xueju Wang; Xiaogang Guo; Jilong Ye; Ning Zheng; Punit Kohli; Dongwhi Choi; Yi Zhang; Zhaoqian Xie; Qihui Zhang; Haiwen Luan; Kewang Nan; Bong Hoon Kim; Yameng Xu; Xiwei Shan; Wubin Bai; Rujie Sun; Zizheng Wang; Hokyung Jang; Fan Zhang; Yinji Ma; Zheng Xu; Xue Feng; Tao Xie; Yonggang Huang; Yihui Zhang; John A Rogers

doi:10.1002/adma.201805615

Freestanding 3D Mesostructures, Functional Devices, and Shape-Programmable Systems Based on Mechanically Induced Assembly with Shape Memory Polymers

Adv Mater. 2019 Jan;31(2):e1805615. doi: 10.1002/adma.201805615. Epub 2018 Oct 29.

Authors

Xueju Wang^{1

2}, Xiaogang Guo³, Jilong Ye⁴, Ning Zheng⁵, Punit Kohli⁶, Dongwhi Choi⁷, Yi Zhang^{1

8}, Zhaoqian Xie⁹, Qihui Zhang¹, Haiwen Luan⁹, Kewang Nan¹⁰, Bong Hoon Kim¹, Yameng Xu¹, Xiwei Shan¹⁰, Wubin Bai¹, Rujie Sun¹¹, Zizheng Wang¹⁰, Hokyung Jang¹, Fan Zhang³, Yinji Ma³, Zheng Xu^{3

12}, Xue Feng³, Tao Xie⁵, Yonggang Huang¹³, Yihui Zhang³, John A Rogers^{1

14}

Affiliations

¹ Simpson Querrey Institute and Feinberg Medical School, Center for Bio-Integrated Electronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
² Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
³ Center for Mechanics and Materials, Center for Flexible Electronics Technology, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China.
⁴ Center for Nano and Micro Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China.
⁶ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA.
⁷ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, 17104, South Korea.
⁸ Department of Biomedical, Biological and Chemical Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
⁹ Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering Mechanical Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
¹¹ Bristol Composites Institute (ACCIS), University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TR, UK.
¹² The State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing and Systems Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, P. R. China.
¹³ Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering Mechanical Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering, Center for Bio-Integrated Electronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Materials Science and Engineering Biomedical Engineering, Neurological Surgery, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.

PMID: 30370605
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201805615

Abstract

Capabilities for controlled formation of sophisticated 3D micro/nanostructures in advanced materials have foundational implications across a broad range of fields. Recently developed methods use stress release in prestrained elastomeric substrates as a driving force for assembling 3D structures and functional microdevices from 2D precursors. A limitation of this approach is that releasing these structures from their substrate returns them to their original 2D layouts due to the elastic recovery of the constituent materials. Here, a concept in which shape memory polymers serve as a means to achieve freestanding 3D architectures from the same basic approach is introduced, with demonstrated ability to realize lateral dimensions, characteristic feature sizes, and thicknesses as small as ≈500, 10, and 5 µm simultaneously, and the potential to scale to much larger or smaller dimensions. Wireless electronic devices illustrate the capacity to integrate other materials and functional components into these 3D frameworks. Quantitative mechanics modeling and experimental measurements illustrate not only shape fixation but also capabilities that allow for structure recovery and shape programmability, as a form of 4D structural control. These ideas provide opportunities in fields ranging from micro-electromechanical systems and microrobotics, to smart intravascular stents, tissue scaffolds, and many others.

Keywords: 3D microstructures; 3D printing; 4D printing; guided assembly; shape memory polymers.

Abstract

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