Additive manufacturing for structuring stimuli-responsive materials

Abstract Technologies such as multimaterial printing have enabled the increasing integration of sensing, actuation and other responsiveness into 3D printed parts and opened up a wide range of new applications. In this short review, we focus on several new and emerging approaches for stimuli-responsive materials from ferroelectret and shape memory behaviors of conventional printable polymers to novel polyurethane-acrylate elastomers and ferroelectric composites for printing electromechanical actuators. We will conclude with a discussion of applications of novel applications of stimuli-responsive 3D printed polymers from 4D printing to soft robotics, along with a perspective on future trends in the field. Graphical abstract