Core-Shell Magnetic Micropillars for Reprogrammable Actuation

Stimuli-responsive micro/nanostructures that exhibit not only programmable but also reprogrammable actuation behaviors are highly desirable for various advanced engineering applications (e.g., anticounterfeiting, information encoding, dynamic imaging and display, microrobotics, etc.) but yet to be realized with state-of-the-art technologies. Here we report a concept and a corresponding experimental technique for core-shell magnetic micropillars enabling simultaneously programmable and reprogrammable actuations using a simple magnetic field. The micropillars are composed of elastomeric hollow shells for shaping encapsulated with liquid magnetic nanocomposite resin cores for actuating. The spatial distribution of the magnetic nanoparticles inside the resin channels can be dynamically modulated within individual micropillars, which consequently regulates the magnetomechanical responses of the pillars upon actuation (bending deformation varied near 1 order of magnitude under the same actuation field). We demonstrate that the micropillars with contrasting bending responses can be configured in an arbitrary spatial pattern by direct magnetic writing, and the written pattern can then be easily magnetically erased to facilitate next-round rewriting and reconfiguration. This reprogrammable actuation capability of the micropillars is further demonstrated by their potential applications for rewritable paper and recyclable displays, where various microscale characteristics can be controlled to dynamically appear and disappear at the same or different locations of one single micropillar array. The core-shell magnetic micropillars reported here provide a universal prototype for reprogrammable responsive micro/nanostructures through rational design and facile fabrication from conventional materials.