Polymer Shape Morphing Based on Dynamic Chemistries

Shape morphing materials possess an enhanced adaptability to diverse environments while minimizing material usage and energy consumption. The main challenge in this area lies in applying the driving force and stimuli in a rapid, precise, and cost-effective manner to enhance the efficiency of mass production with more variety, lower cost, and better sustainability. This perspective summarizes methods and strategies developed recently for polymer shape morphing via dynamic chemistries, from the traditional method using externally applied force to unconventional preloaded force or force mismatch. We further highlight representative efforts and contributions from our research group in this area. These newly developed strategies strive to balance the competing demands of scalability, transformation efficiency, and structural fidelity and complexity of the resulting architectures, thereby extending shape morphing into previously inaccessible regimes.