2026-10-11T01:02:09Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33936156 2026-09-18T14:08:35Z category_1 category_146 category_915 category_21 category_113 category_132 portal_63 item_type_2 month_year_09_2026

Programmable Shape-Morphing in Homogeneous Hydrogels via Interfacial Confinement Jiawang Li (8892338) Chunye Ma (20955992) Yanguang Zhou (3105453) Biophysics Space Science Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified Biotechnology Plasma Physics Infectious Diseases uniaxial vertical swelling suppress lateral expansion sample thickness reveals induce anisotropic deformation homogeneous hygroscopic hydrogels equilibrium water uptake elastic penalty imposed corresponding hydrogels irrespective constraint (∼ 10 7 </ sup 5 </ sup type decay systematic variation strongly limits soft robotics scalable paradigm programmable shape overwhelmingly exceeds oriented fillers morphological transition microporous substrate mechanically interlocking interfacial confinement geometric strategy distal isotropy directional displacement boundary geometry adaptive devices Programmable shape-morphing in hydrogels typically requires complex chemical gradients or oriented fillers, which strongly limits its scalability. Here, we design a geometric strategy to induce anisotropic deformation in homogeneous hygroscopic hydrogels through interfacial confinement. By mechanically interlocking the hydrogel with a microporous substrate, we suppress lateral expansion at the base and redirect isotropic volume gain into directional displacement. Systematic variation of sample thickness reveals a morphological transition: thin films undergo quasi-uniaxial vertical swelling, whereas thick films develop mushroom-like architectures featuring coexisting interfacial anisotropy and distal isotropy. Meanwhile, the ionic osmotic pressure (∼10⁷ Pa) overwhelmingly exceeds the elastic penalty imposed by the constraint (∼10⁵ Pa), which makes the equilibrium water uptake of the corresponding hydrogels irrespective of boundary geometry. Poroelastic simulations quantitatively reproduce the experimentally observed deformation profiles, and cross-sectional electron microscopy confirms a stress-attenuation-driven microstructural gradient consistent with Saint-Venant-type decay. These findings establish interfacial confinement as a scalable paradigm for programming hydrogel actuation without requiring compositional heterogeneity, with implications for soft robotics and adaptive devices. 2026-09-18T00:00:00Z Dataset Media 10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c04249.s003 https://figshare.com/articles/media/Programmable_Shape-Morphing_in_Homogeneous_Hydrogels_via_Interfacial_Confinement/33936156 CC BY-NC 4.0