Researchers at Tufts University School of Engineering have developed magnetic elastomeric composites that move in different ways when exposed to light, raising the possibility that these materials could enable a wide range of products that perform simple to complex movements, from tiny engines and valves to solar arrays that bend toward the sunlight. The research is described in an article published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In biology, there are many examples where light induces movement or change – think of flowers and leaves turning toward sunlight. The light actuated materials created in this study are based on the principle of the Curie temperature – the temperature above which certain materials will change their magnetic properties. By heating and cooling a magnetic material, one can turn its magnetism off and on. Biopolymers and elastomers doped with ferromagnetic CrO2 will heat up when exposed to laser or sunlight, temporarily losing their magnetic properties until they cool down again. The basic movements of the material, shaped into films, sponges, and hydrogels, are induced by nearby permanent or electromagnets and can exhibit as bending, twisting, and expansion.

“We could combine these simple movements into more complex motion, like crawling, walking, or swimming,” said Fiorenzo Omenetto, Ph.D., corresponding author of the study and the Frank C. Doble Professor of Engineering in the School of Engineering at Tufts. “And these movements can be triggered and controlled wirelessly, using light.”

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