3D-printed, photoresponsive hydrogel structures (IMAGE)
Caption
An international team of researchers has embedded gold nanorods in hydrogels that can be processed through 3D printing to create structures that contract when exposed to light – and expand again when the light is removed. Because this expansion and contraction can be performed repeatedly, the 3D-printed structures can serve as remotely controlled actuators. This image shows 3D-printed themoresponsive hydrogel with embedded gold nanorods before heating and in the expanded state (on the left) and immediately after photothermal heating and in the contracted state (on the right).
Credit
Melanie M. Gheladini and Martin Geisler
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