Magnetically responsive microprintable soft nanocomposites with tunable nanoparticle loading

Abstract

Magnetic remote actuation of soft materials is attractive for applications such as transforming materials and medical robots. However, due to manufacturing limitations, microscale magnetoactive devices are scarce and light-based additive manufacturing methods, despite achieving microscale resolution, struggle with particle-induced light scattering. Moreover, large hard-magnetic microparticles restrict ultimate feature sizes and deformation of soft-magnetic nanoparticle composites requires impractically high loading and field gradients. Among successfully fabricated microscale soft-magnetic composites, limited control over particle loading, distribution, and matrix-phase stiffness has hindered their functionality. Here, we combine two-photon polymerization with iron oxide nanoparticle co-precipitation to fabricate 3D-printed microscale nanocomposites with spatially tunable nanoparticle distribution. We controlled nanoparticle content by locally modulating the two-photon dose, imbuing parts with varied magnetic functionality and achieving millimeter-scale elastic deformations, demonstrated by a soft robotic gripper and a bistable bit register and sensor. Our approach enables precise control of mechanical and magnetic properties toward microscale metamaterial and robotics applications.