Hybrid Magnetic Micropillar Arrays for Programmable Actuation

Zhengzhi Wang*, Kun Wang, Deshan Liang, Linhai Yan, Ke Ni, Houbing Huang*, Bei Li, Zhiwei Guo, Junsheng Wang, Xingqiao Ma, Xuhai Tang, Long Qing Chen*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

67 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Stimuli-responsive micro/nanostructures that can dynamically and reversibly adapt their configurations according to external stimuli have stimulated a wide scope of engineering applications, ranging from material surface engineering to micromanipulations. However, it remains a challenge to achieve a precise local control of the actuation to realize applications that require heterogeneous and on-demand responses. Here, a new experimental technique is developed for large arrays of hybrid magnetic micropillars and achieve precise local control of actuation using a simple magnetic field. By manipulating the spatial distribution of magnetic nanoparticles within individual elastomer micropillars, a wide range of the magnetomechanical responses from less than 5% to ≈50% for the ratio of the bending deflection to the original length of the pillars is realized. It is demonstrated that the micropillars with different degrees of bending deformation can be configured in any spatial pattern using a photomask-assisted template-casting technique to achieve heterogeneous, site-specific, and programmed bending actuations. This unprecedented local control of the micropillars offers exciting novel applications, as demonstrated here in encryptable surface printing and stamping, direction- and track-programmable microparticle/droplet transport, and smart magnetic micro-tweezers. The hybrid magnetic micropillars reported here provide a versatile prototype for heterogeneous and on-demand actuation using programmable stimuli-responsive micro/nanostructures.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2001879
JournalAdvanced Materials
Volume32
Issue number25
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2020

Keywords

  • bending
  • hybrid patterning
  • magnetic micropillars
  • micromanipulation
  • stimuli-responsive structures

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