Open Access

ARTICLE

A Highly Deformable, Low-Viscosity Photocurable Shape Memory Polymer Enabling Digital Light Processing-Based 4D Printing with Thermal-Magnetic Multi-Responsive Actuation

Yuxuan Qin^1,#, Shouyi Yu^2,#, Yunlong Guo¹, Ang Chu¹, Yilin Liu¹, Qi Ge^2,*, Biao Zhang^1,*
1 State Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (LOFE) & School of Flexible Electronics (SFE), Northwestern Polytechnical University, 127 West Youyi Road, Xi’an, China
2 Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Additive Manufacturing of High-Performance Materials, Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
* Corresponding Author: Qi Ge. Email: ; Biao Zhang. Email:
# These authors contributed equally to this work
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Shape Memory Polymers)

Journal of Polymer Materials https://doi.org/10.32604/jpm.2026.086549

Received 01 June 2026; Accepted 09 September 2026; Published online 18 September 2026

Abstract

4D printing relies on smart materials capable of controlled deformation upon external stimuli. Existing photocurable shape memory polymers (SMPs) suffer from high viscosity, single (thermal) responsiveness, and insufficient deformability, which limit their applications. Herein, we report a low-viscosity, UV-curable SMP resin composed of tetrahydrofurfuryl acrylate, isobornyl acrylate, acryloylmorpholine as monomers and aromatic urethane dimethacrylate as crosslinker (TIA-AUD), with large deformability, tailor-made for digital light processing (DLP)-based 4D printing. We designed and synthesized a high-molecular-weight polyurethane based crosslinker with excellent properties. Through synergistic regulation of multiple reactive diluents to optimize resin performance, the material achieves outstanding high-temperature deformability (Elongation at break of 620% at 100°C) together with good room-temperature toughness (280% at 20°C), as well as shape fixity and recovery ratios of approximately 97% and 92%, respectively. Moreover, incorporation of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles endows the material with magnetic responsiveness: under an alternating magnetic field, the composite undergoes inductive heating above its glass transition temperature, enabling untethered shape memory actuation with a recovery ratio of about 91%. This work provides a versatile SMP platform for DLP-based 4D printing that integrates low viscosity, high deformability, and multi-stimuli responsiveness, expanding the material portfolio for soft actuators and intelligent devices.

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Keywords

4D printing; digital light processing (DLP); shape memory polymer (SMP); low viscosity; high deformability; multi-stimuli responsiveness; magnetic hyperthermia

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