Dual‐Programmable Architected Magnetic Soft Materials: Tuning Mechano–Electric Responses by Inverse Design

ABSTRACT Materials that can deform, sense, and autonomously generate power in response to wireless magnetic fields, through both magnetic‐actuated shape transformation and charge generation, are an emerging focus in advanced functional materials research. Magneto–mechano–electric intelligent materials, created by embedding ferromagnetic particles into soft elastomers with immobile charges, are bringing this vision closer to reality. Under wireless magnetic actuation, they undergo rapid deformation that drives charge flow, enabling controlled responses. Yet realizing such materials to unleash their full potential remains a major challenge because of the complex multiphysics coupling under large deformation and independent mechanical and electrical responses. In this work, we create a new class of dual‐programmable magnetic soft materials with unprecedented dual properties by establishing a multiphysics inverse‐design framework that simultaneously optimizes geometry and remanent magnetization distributions to tune both magneto–elastic and magneto–electric behaviors. The framework is complemented by a tailored fabrication approach and experimental validation, forming a comprehensive and automated pipeline for creating multifunctional advanced materials for biomedical devices with dually programmable behaviors. Its effectiveness is demonstrated through an electrical stimulation guidewire for endovascular therapy, mechano–electric treatment robots for injury‐specific tissue recovery, and multifunctional self‐powering and self‐sensing bio‐robots with on‐demand mechanical motions. Together, these results establish an effective inverse‐design‐to‐fabrication paradigm for dual‐programmable magnetic soft materials in next‐generation biomedical applications.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2026-05-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202600068
Primary Topic
Micro and Nano Robotics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Dual‐Programmable Architected Magnetic Soft Materials: Tuning Mechano–Electric Responses by Inverse Design

Xiaojia Shelly Zhang, Zhi Zhao
Advanced Functional Materials
Micro and Nano Robotics
article

Dual‐Programmable Architected Magnetic Soft Materials: Tuning Mechano–Electric Responses by Inverse Design

Xiaojia Shelly Zhang, Zhi Zhao
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Materials that can deform, sense, and autonomously generate power in response to wireless magnetic fields, through both magnetic‐actuated shape transformation and charge generation, are an emerging focus in advanced functional materials research. Magneto–mechano–electric intelligent materials, created by embedding ferromagnetic particles into soft elastomers with immobile charges, are bringing this vision closer to reality. Under wireless magnetic actuation, they undergo rapid deformation that drives charge flow, enabling controlled responses. Yet realizing such materials to unleash their full potential remains a major challenge because of the complex multiphysics coupling under large deformation and independent mechanical and electrical responses. In this work, we create a new class of dual‐programmable magnetic soft materials with unprecedented dual properties by establishing a multiphysics inverse‐design framework that simultaneously optimizes geometry and remanent magnetization distributions to tune both magneto–elastic and magneto–electric behaviors. The framework is complemented by a tailored fabrication approach and experimental validation, forming a comprehensive and automated pipeline for creating multifunctional advanced materials for biomedical devices with dually programmable behaviors. Its effectiveness is demonstrated through an electrical stimulation guidewire for endovascular therapy, mechano–electric treatment robots for injury‐specific tissue recovery, and multifunctional self‐powering and self‐sensing bio‐robots with on‐demand mechanical motions. Together, these results establish an effective inverse‐design‐to‐fabrication paradigm for dual‐programmable magnetic soft materials in next‐generation biomedical applications.

Advanced Functional Materials
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US), National Center for Supercomputing Applications (US)
National Science Foundation, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Air Force Office of Scientific Research
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Micro and Nano Robotics
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.