Pre-Twist-dependent Configurations of Hydrogel Rings and Their Distinct Modes of Self-sustained Locomotion

Han-Lei Cheng; Qing-Li Zhu; Zhi-Jian Wang; Josef Breu; Zi-Liang Wu

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3646-1

Your Location：

Home >

Browse articles >

Pre-Twist-dependent Configurations of Hydrogel Rings and Their Distinct Modes of Self-sustained Locomotion

Special Topic: Functional Gels | Updated：2026-05-30

- Pre-Twist-dependent Configurations of Hydrogel Rings and Their Distinct Modes of Self-sustained Locomotion
- Pre-Twist-dependent Configurations of Hydrogel Rings and Their Distinct Modes of Self-sustained Locomotion
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science 2026年44卷第6期页码：1716-1726
- Affiliations：
  
  a.Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
  b.Bavarian Polymer Institute and Department of Chemistry, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth 95440, Germany
- Author bio：
  
  wangzhijian@zju.edu.cn (Z.J.W.)
  Josef.Breu@uni-bayreuth.de (J.B.)
  wuziliang@zju.edu.cn (Z.L.W.)
- Funds：
  
  This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52325302 and 524B1010).;The authors declare no interest conflict.Electronic supplementary information (ESI) is available free of charge in the online version of this article at http://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-026-3646-1.The data that support the results of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Contact information of corresponding authors: wangzhijian@zju.edu.cn, Josef.Breu@uni-bayreuth.de, and wuziliang@zju.edu.cn.
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3646-1
  中图分类号：
- 收稿：2026-01-31，
  
  录用：2026-03-09，
  
  网络首发：2026-05-14，
  
  纸质出版：2026-06-05
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
Cheng, H. L.; Zhu, Q. L.; Wang, Z. J.; Breu, J.; Wu, Z. L. Pre-twist-dependent configurations of hydrogel rings and their distinct modes of self-sustained locomotion. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 1716–1726

Han-Lei Cheng, Qing-Li Zhu, Zhi-Jian Wang, et al. Pre-Twist-dependent Configurations of Hydrogel Rings and Their Distinct Modes of Self-sustained Locomotion[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(6): 1716-1726.
Cheng, H. L.; Zhu, Q. L.; Wang, Z. J.; Breu, J.; Wu, Z. L. Pre-twist-dependent configurations of hydrogel rings and their distinct modes of self-sustained locomotion. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 1716–1726 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3646-1.

Han-Lei Cheng, Qing-Li Zhu, Zhi-Jian Wang, et al. Pre-Twist-dependent Configurations of Hydrogel Rings and Their Distinct Modes of Self-sustained Locomotion[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(6): 1716-1726. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3646-1.

摘要

Programming built-in twist (

) in hydrogel rings generates distinct configurations with specific stress distributions

enabling multiple self-sustained motion modes: coupled rolling and spinning

irregular tumbling

and stable rolling. This work demonstrates that internal stress programming provides a versatile strategy for achieving diverse locomotion within a single soft material system.

Abstract

Self-sustained continuous motion is a central functional objective in soft actuators and robotics. One key challenge lies in establishing a persistent

self-regulated deformation feedback in soft materials under external stimulation

which is ultimately rooted in their geometry and configuration. Here

based on a cylindrical hydrogel with fast

reversible

and anisotropic photoresponsiveness

we construct a series of hydrogel rings by twisting one end of the gel string and closing it into a loop. By reg

ulating the built-in twist (

) and the resulting internal prestress

the rings adopt distinct configurations that give rise to multiple motion modes under light irradiation. Gel rings with relatively small

remain in quasi-flat configurations and display coupled rolling and spinning motions. As

increases

the rings undergo Michell’s instability and rapidly snap into a figure-of-eight configuration upon light irradiation

subsequently exhibiting irregular tumbling motions. At even larger

the rings adopt “dough twist” configurations

showing persistent rolling under constant irradiation. Distinct motion modes arise from different actuation-deformation feedback loops established in hydrogels with distinct configurations and stress distributions. These results demonstrate not only the role of the configuration in governing locomotion

but also the potential of a single hydrogel system to achieve diverse motion behaviors through programming internal stresses.

关键词

Keywords

references

Chen, C.; Shi, P.; Liu, Z.; Duan, S.; Si, M.; Zhang, C.; Du, Y.; Yan, Y.; White, T. J.; Kramer-Bottiglio, R.; Sitti, M.; Iwasaki, T.; He, X. Advancing physical intelligence for autonomous soft robots. Sci. Robot. 2025 , 10 , eads1292..

Zhu, C.; Liu, B. Y.; Zhang, L. Z.; Xu, L. Autonomous soft robots: self-regulation, self-sustained, and recovery strategies. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025 , 43 , 535−547..

Chung, T.; Choi, J.; Enomoto, T.; Park, S.; Kim, S.; Kim, Y. S. Self-regulating hydrogel actuators. Chem. Rev. 2025 , 125 , 9053−9088..

Yan, H.; Tang, P.; Li, S. H.; Zhao, T. Y.; Liu, M. J. Progress of biomimetic anisotropic poly( N -isopropylacrylamide) intelligent response actuators. Chem. J. Chin. Univ. Chin. 2020 , 41 , 936−946..

Zhang, X.; Zhou, Y.; Han, M.; Zheng, Y.; Liu, J.; Bao, Y.; Shan, G.; Yu, C.; Pan, P. Non-monotonic information and shape evolution of polymers enabled by spatially programmed crystallization and melting. Chem. Bio. Eng. 2024 , 1 , 790−797..

Zhang, Y.; Liao, J.; Wang, T.; Sun, W.; Tong, Z. Polyampholyte hydrogels with pH modulated shape memory and spontaneous actuation. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2018 , 28 , 1707245..

Jian, Y.; Wu, B.; Le, X.; Liang, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, D.; Zhang, L.; Lu, W.; Zhang, J.; Chen, T. Anti-freezing and stretchable organohydrogels as soft actuators. Research 2019 , 2019 , 2384347..

Zhu, C. Y.; Lu, Y.; Jiang, L. X.; Yu, Y. L. Liquid crystal soft actuators and robots toward mixed reality. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2021 , 31 , 20098 35..

Tian, L.; Tan, J. J.; Dong, W. L.; Yang, B.; Li, C. H.; Wang, D.; Huang, H. Y.; Li, X. T.; Zhu, C. Z.; Xu, J. Wireless autonomous soft crawlers for adjustable climbing actuation. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2023 , 41 , 405−413..

Luo, Z. B.; Cheng, W. Q.; Zhao, T. Y.; Xiang, N. Intelligent sensory systems toward soft robotics. Appl. Mater. Today 2024 , 37 , 102122..

Wang, X.-Q.; Ho, G. W. Design of untethered soft material micromachine for life-like locomotion. Mater. Today 2022 , 53 , 197−216..

Jung, Y.; Kwon, K.; Lee, J.; Ko, S. H. Untethered soft actuators for soft standalone robotics. Nat. Commun. 2024 , 15 , 3510..

Tang, Y. F.; Pan, F.; Qin, L.; Yu, Y. L. Adaptive locomotion of pleurotya caterpillar-inspired segmental crawling robots with multiple postures. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2025 , 35 , 2506987..

Wang, D.; Zha o, B.; Li, X.; Dong, L.; Zhang, M.; Zou, J.; Gu, G. Dexterous electrical-driven soft robots with reconfigurable chiral-lattice foot design. Nat. Commun. 2023 , 14 , 5067..

Palagi, S.; Mark, A. G.; Reigh, S. Y.; Melde, K.; Qiu, T.; Zeng, H.; Parmeggiani, C.; Martella, D.; Sanchez-Castillo, A.; Kapernaum, N.; Giesselmann, F.; Wiersma, D. S.; Lauga, E.; Fischer, P. Structured light enables biomimetic swimming and versatile locomotion of photoresponsive soft microrobots. Nat. Mater. 2016 , 15 , 647−653..

Wu, S.; Hong, Y.; Zhao, Y.; Yin, J.; Zhu, Y. Caterpillar-inspired soft crawling robot with distributed programmable thermal actuation. Sci. Adv. 2023 , 9 , eadf8014..

Zhang, L. Z.; Liu, B. Y.; Zhu, C.; Xu, L. Bioinspired actuation of liquid crystal elastomers with hierarchical structures based on light response. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025 , 43 , 1981−1990..

Sitti, M. Physical intelligence as a new paradigm. Extreme Mech. Lett. 2021 , 46 , 101340..

Zhao, Y.; Li, Q.; Liu, Z.; Alsaid, Y.; Shi, P.; Jawed, M. K.; He, X. Sunlight-powered self-excited oscillators for sustainable autonomous soft robotics. Sci. Robot. 2023 , 8 , eadf4753..

Zhao, Y.; Chi, Y.; Hong, Y.; Li, Y.; Yang, S.; Yin, J. Twisting for soft intelligent autonomous robot in unstructured environments. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2022 , 119 , e2200265119..

Zhou, X.; Chen, G.; Jin, B.; Feng, H.; Chen, Z.; Fang, M.; Yang, B.; Xiao, R.; Xie, T.; Zheng, N. Multimodal autonomous locomotion of liquid crystal elastomer soft robot. Adv. Sci. 2024 , 11 , 2402358..

Kaspar, C.; Ravoo, B. J.; van der Wiel, W. G.; Wegner, S. V.; Pernice, W. H. P. The rise of intelligent matter. Nature 2021 , 594 , 345−355..

Shklyaev, O. E.; Balazs, A. C. Interlinking spatial dimensions and kinetic processes in dissipative materials to create synthetic systems with lifelike functionality. Nat. Nanotechnol. 2024 , 19 , 146−159..

Guo, H.; Li, K.; Yang, J.; Li, D.; Liu, F.; Zeng, H. Light-mediated communication in responsive mat erials ranging from individual self-oscillators to feedback-driven network. Nat. Commun. 2025 , 16 , 11315..

Ahn, C.; Li, K.; Cai, S. Light or thermally powered autonomous rolling of an elastomer rod. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2018 , 10 , 25689−25696..

Zhu, Q. L.; Cheng, H. L.; Liu, W. X.; Xiao, Y. B.; Wu, X. L.; Breu, J.; Hong, W.; Wang, Z. J.; Zheng, Q.; Wu, Z. L. Light-driven self-sustained rolling of cylinder hydrogels with fast and anisotropic responses. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025 , 43 , 548−555..

Deng, Z.; Li, K.; Priimagi, A.; Zeng, H. Light-steerable locomotion using zero-elastic-energy modes. Nat. Mater. 2024 , 23 , 1728−1735..

Chen, F.; Xu, W.; Zhang, H.; Wang, Y.; Cao, J.; Wang, M. Y.; Ren, H.; Zhu, J.; Zhang, Y. F. Topology optimized design, fabrication, and characterization of a soft cable-driven gripper. IEEE Robot. Autom. Lett. 2018 , 3 , 2463−2470..

Chi, Y.; Li, Y.; Zhao, Y.; Hong, Y.; Tang, Y.; Yin, J. Bistable and multistable actuators for soft robots: struc tures, materials, and functionalities. Adv. Mater. 2022 , 34 , e2110384..

Qi, F.; Li, Y.; Hong, Y.; Zhao, Y.; Qing, H.; Yin, J. Defected twisted ring topology for autonomous periodic flip–spin–orbit soft robot. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2024 , 121 , e2312680121..

Zhu, Q. L.; Liu, W.; Khoruzhenko, O.; Breu, J.;Hong, W.; Zheng, Q.; Wu, Z. L. Animating hydrogel knotbots with topology-invoked self-regulation. Nat. Commun. 2024 , 15 , 300..

[Zhu, Q. L.; Li, Z.; Cheng, H. L.; Liu, W. X.; Wang, Z. J.; Khoruzhenko, O.; Breu, J.; Hong, W.; Zheng, Q.; Wu, Z. L. Michell's-instability-mediated fast reconfiguration of hydrogel-based ring actuators. Adv. Mater . 2025 , e11239..

Zhu, Q. L.; Liu, W.; Khoruzhenko, O.; Breu, J.; Bai, H.; Hong, W.; Zheng, Q.; Wu, Z. L. Closed twisted hydrogel ribbons with self-sustained motions under static light irradiation. Adv. Mater. 2024 , 36 , 2314152..

Goriely, A. Twisted elastic rings and the rediscoveries of Michell's ins tability. J. Elast. 2006 , 84 , 281−299..

Michell, J. H. On the stability of a bent and twisted wire. Messenger Math. 1889 , 11 , 181−184..

Fullbrandt, M.; Ermilova, E.; Asadujjaman, A.; Holzel, R.; Bier, F. F.; von Klitzing, R.; Schonhals, A. Dynamics of linear poly( N -isopropylacrylamide) in water around the phase transition investigated by dielectric relaxation spectroscopy. J. Phys. Chem. B 2014 , 118 , 3750−3759..

Gomez-Galvan, F.; Lara-Ceniceros, T.; Mercado-Uribe, H. Device for simultaneous measurements of the optical and dielectric properties of hydrogels. Meas. Sci. Technol. 2012 , 23 , 025602..

Ru, Y. F.; Liu, M. J. Superwetting gels: wetting principles, applications, and challenges. ACS Nano 2025 , 19 , 7583−7600..

Halperin, A.; Kröger, M.; Winnik, F. M. Poly( N -Isopropylacrylamide) phase diagrams: fifty years of research. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2015 , 54 , 15342−15367..

Bai, H. Y.; Zhu, Q. L.; Cheng, H. L.; Wen, X. L.; Wang, Z. J.; Wu, Z. L. Muscle-like hydrogels with fast isochoric responses and their applications as soft robots: a minireview. Mater. Horiz. 2025 , 12 , 719−733..

Dai, C. F.; Khoruzhenko, O.; Zhang, C.; Zhu, Q. L.; Jiao D.; Du, M.; Breu, J.; Zhao, P.; Zheng, Q.; Wu, Z. L. Magneto-orientation of magnetic double stacks for patterned anisotropic hydrogels with multiple responses and modulable motions. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022 , 61 , e202207272..

Nie, Z. Z.; Zuo, B.; Wang, M.; Huang, S.; Chen, X. M.; Liu, Z. Y.; Yang, H. Light-driven continuous rotating Möbius strip actuators. Nat. Commun. 2021 , 12 , 2334..

Baumann, A.; Sánchez-Ferrer, A.; Jacomine, L.; Martinoty, P.; Le Houerou, V.; Ziebert, F.; Kulić, I. M. Motorizing fibres with geometric zero-energy modes. Nat. Mater. 2018 , 17 , 523−527..

Gelebart, A. H.; Jan Mulder, D.; Varga, M.; Konya, A.; Vantomme, G.; Meijer, E. W.; Selinger, R. L. B.; Broer, D. J. Making waves in a photoactive polymer film. Nature 2017 , 546 , 632−636..

Zhao, Y.; Liu, Z.; Shi, P.; Chen, C.; Alsaid, Y.; Yan, Y.; He, X. Antagonistic-contracting high-power photo-oscillators for multifunctional actuations. Nat. Mater. 2024 , 24 , 116−124..

Chen, C.; Liu, Z.; Shi, P.; Zhao, Y.; Duan, S.; Du, Y.; Yan, Y.; Si, M.; Iwasaki, T.; He, X. Bio-inspired multimodal soft actuator with environmental self-adaptation. Nat. Commun. 2025 , 16 , 7630..

Zang, H.; Liao, B.; Lang, X.; Zhao Z. L.; Yuan W. F.; Feng X. Q. Bionic torus as a self-adaptive soft grasper in robots. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2020 , 116 , 023701..

Johanns, P.; Grandgeorge, P.; Baek, C.; Sano, T. G.; Maddocks, J. H.; Reis, P. M. The shapes of physical trefoil knots. Extreme Mech. Lett. 2021 , 43 , 101172..

浏览量

Downloads

CSCD

文章被引用时，请邮件提醒。

Submit

工具集

关联资源

Bioinspired Actuation of Liquid Crystal Elastomers with Hierarchical Structures Based on Light Response

Light-driven Self-sustained Rolling of Cylinder Hydrogels with Fast and Anisotropic Responses

Topological Design of Low Dielectric Ladder-like Polysilsesquioxane and Copolymers

Microenvironment Responsive Polymeric Nitric Oxide Releasing Micelles for Enhancing Eradication of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm

A Phosphorus/Nitrogen-containing Phosphaphenanthrene Derivative as Flame Retardant for Poly(lactic acid)