Patterns and morphology develop in living systems such as embryos in response to chemical signals. To understand and exploit the interplay of chemical reactions with mechanical transformations, chemomechanical polymer systems have been synthesized by attaching chemicals into hydrogels. In this work, we design autonomous responsive elastic shells that undergo morphological changes induced by chemical reactions. We couple the local mechanical response of the gel with the chemical processes on the shell. This causes swelling and deswelling of the gel, generating diverse morphological changes, including periodic oscillations. We further introduce a mechanical instability and observe buckling–unbuckling dynamics with a response time delay. Moreover, we investigate the mechanical feedback on the chemical reaction and demonstrate the dynamic patterns triggered by an initial deformation. We show the chemical characteristics that account for the shell morphology and discuss the future designs for autonomous responsive materials.

模式和形态在生命系统中发展，例如响应化学信号的胚胎。为了理解和利用化学反应与机械转化的相互作用，通过将化学物质附着到水凝胶中来合成化学机械聚合物系统。在这项工作中，我们设计了自主响应弹性壳，其经历由化学反应引起的形态变化。我们将凝胶的局部机械响应与壳上的化学过程结合起来。这会导致凝胶溶胀和消溶胀，产生多种形态变化，包括周期性振荡。我们进一步引入了机械不稳定性并观察具有响应时间延迟的屈曲-解屈动力学。而且，我们研究了化学反应的机械反馈，并展示了由初始变形触发的动态模式。我们展示了解释外壳形态的化学特性，并讨论了自主响应材料的未来设计。