Whether for separation processes, photovoltaics, catalysis, or electronics, porous polymer membranes are needed in many fields. Membranes with micropores that switch between different shapes and/or ...

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) can remember different shapes and can be recovered to their permanent shapes from temporary shapes with appropriate stimuli, such as heat, humidity, and electrical field.

Ryan Hayward's self-folding crane begins as a flat, trilayer sheet. The middle pNIPAM hydrogel layer swells as the water around it is heated, and the folding is guided by slits patterned into the more ...