# Smart material > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Smart_material > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Smart_material.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_material > Source revision: 1353591569 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Material that can be externally controlled}} {{More citations needed|date=November 2013}} '''Smart materials''', also called intelligent or responsive materials,{{cite book |last1=Bengisu |first1=Murat |last2=Ferrara |first2=Marinella |title=Materials that move: smart materials, intelligent design |date=2018 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-319-76888-5}}{{Page needed|date=July 2020}} are designed materials that have one or more properties that can be significantly changed in a controlled fashion by external stimuli, such as [stress](/source/stress_(physics)), moisture, [electric](/source/electric_field) or [magnetic](/source/magnetic_field) fields, light, [temperature](/source/temperature), [pH](/source/pH), or chemical compounds.{{Cite journal |last1=Brizzi |first1=Silvia |last2=Cavozzi |first2=Cristian |last3=Storti |first3=Fabrizio |date=2023-09-29 |title=Smart materials for experimental tectonics: Viscous behavior of magnetorheological silicones |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040195123003360 |journal=Tectonophysics |volume=867 |article-number=230038 |doi=10.1016/j.tecto.2023.230038 |bibcode=2023Tectp.86730038B |issn=0040-1951|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last1=Bahl |first1=Shashi |last2=Nagar |first2=Himanshu |last3=Singh |first3=Inderpreet |last4=Sehgal |first4=Shankar |date=2020-01-01 |title=Smart materials types, properties and applications: A review |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214785320331278 |journal=Materials Today: Proceedings |series=International Conference on Aspects of Materials Science and Engineering |volume=28 |pages=1302–1306 |doi=10.1016/j.matpr.2020.04.505 |issn=2214-7853|url-access=subscription }} Smart materials are the basis of many applications, including [sensors](/source/sensors) and [actuators](/source/actuators), or [artificial muscles](/source/artificial_muscles), particularly as [electroactive polymers](/source/electroactive_polymers) (EAPs).{{cite book |editor-last1=Shahinpoor |editor-first1=Mohsen |editor-last2=Schneider |editor-first2=Hans-Jorg |title=Intelligent materials |date=2007 |publisher=RSC Publishing |isbn=978-0-85404-335-4}}{{Page needed|date=July 2020}}{{cite book |editor-last1=Schwartz |editor-first1=Mel |title=Encyclopedia of smart materials |date=2002 |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |isbn=978-0-471-17780-7}}{{Page needed|date=July 2020}}{{cite book |last1=Nakanishi |first1=Takashi |title=Supramolecular soft matter: applications in materials and organic electronics |date=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-55974-1}}{{Page needed|date=July 2020}}{{cite book |last1=Gaudenzi |first1=Paolo |title=Smart structures: physical behaviour, mathematical modelling and applications |date=2009 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-05982-1}}{{Page needed|date=July 2020}}{{cite book |last1=Janocha |first1=Hartmut |title=Adaptronics and smart structures: basics, materials, design, and applications |date=2007 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-540-71967-0 |edition=2nd, revised}}{{Page needed|date=July 2020}}{{cite book |last1=Schwartz |first1=Mel |title=Smart materials |date=2009 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-4200-4372-3}}{{Page needed|date=July 2020}} ==Types== There are a wide array of smart materials, each classified by its functional mechanism. Examples include: '''Electromechanical:''' Responsive to electrical and/or mechanical stimuli. * [Piezoelectric](/source/Piezoelectricity) materials can produce a voltage when mechanical stress is applied. This effect also applies in a reverse manner, a voltage applied across the material will produce mechanical stress within sample. Therefore structures made from these materials can be designed to bend, expand, or contract when a voltage is applied{{Cite journal |last1=Wu |first1=Yifan |last2=Zou |first2=Junwu |last3=Tang |first3=Kai |last4=Xia |first4=Ying |last5=Wang |first5=Xixi |last6=Song |first6=Lili |last7=Wang |first7=Jinhai |last8=Wang |first8=Kai |last9=Wang |first9=Zhihong |date=2024 |title=From electricity to vitality: the emerging use of piezoelectric materials in tissue regeneration |journal=Burns & Trauma |volume=12 |article-number=tkae013 |doi=10.1093/burnst/tkae013 |issn=2321-3868 |pmc=11218788 |pmid=38957661}}. * [Electroactive polymers](/source/Electroactive_polymers) (EAPs) change their volume with applied electrical stimulation{{Cite journal |last1=Catry |first1=C. |last2=Lourdin |first2=D. |last3=Roelens |first3=G. |last4=Nguyen |first4=Giao T. M. |last5=Vidal |first5=Frédéric |last6=Plesse |first6=Cédric |last7=Leroy |first7=E. |date=2023-06-01 |title=Electroactive trilayer actuators taking advantage of the ionic conductivity and self-adhesion of ionic liquid plasticized starch |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666893923000166 |journal=Carbohydrate Polymer Technologies and Applications |volume=5 |article-number=100295 |doi=10.1016/j.carpta.2023.100295 |issn=2666-8939}}. * [Dielectric elastomers](/source/Dielectric_elastomers) (DEs) are smart material systems which produce large strains (up to 500%) when an external voltage is applied{{Cite journal |last1=Feng |first1=Wenwen |last2=Sun |first2=Lin |last3=Jin |first3=Zhekai |last4=Chen |first4=Lili |last5=Liu |first5=Yuncong |last6=Xu |first6=Hao |last7=Wang |first7=Chao |date=2024-05-18 |title=A large-strain and ultrahigh energy density dielectric elastomer for fast moving soft robot |journal=Nature Communications |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=4222 |doi=10.1038/s41467-024-48243-y |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=11102557 |pmid=38762507 |bibcode=2024NatCo..15.4222F }}. '''Magnetic Responsive:''' Responsive to an exposure to or change of a magnetic field. *[Magnetostrictive](/source/Magnetostriction) materials exhibit a change in volume when exposed to a magnetic field and when mechanically stressed can produce a magnetic field of its own{{Cite journal |last1=Gao |first1=Chengde |last2=Zeng |first2=Zihao |last3=Peng |first3=Shuping |last4=Shuai |first4=Cijun |date= 2022|title=Magnetostrictive alloys: Promising materials for biomedical applications |journal=Bioactive Materials |volume=8 |pages=177–195 |doi=10.1016/j.bioactmat.2021.06.025 |issn=2452-199X |pmc=8424514 |pmid=34541395 |bibcode=2022BioaM...8..177G }}. * [Magnetic shape memory](/source/Magnetic_shape_memory) alloys are materials that change their shape in response to a significant change in the magnetic field{{Cite journal |last1=Minorowicz |first1=Bartosz |last2=Milecki |first2=Andrzej |date=2022-06-22 |title=Design and Control of Magnetic Shape Memory Alloy Actuators |journal=Materials (Basel, Switzerland) |volume=15 |issue=13 |pages=4400 |doi=10.3390/ma15134400 |doi-access=free |issn=1996-1944 |pmc=9267520 |pmid=35806525 |bibcode=2022Mate...15.4400M }}. * [Ferrofluid](/source/Ferrofluid)s are magnetic fluids composed of suspended nanoscale ferromagnetic particles that are affected by magnetic fields{{Cite journal |last1=Kole |first1=Madhusree |last2=Khandekar |first2=Sameer |date=2021-11-01 |title=Engineering applications of ferrofluids: A review |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304885321004984 |journal=Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials |volume=537 |article-number=168222 |doi=10.1016/j.jmmm.2021.168222 |bibcode=2021JMMM..53768222K |issn=0304-8853|url-access=subscription }}. * [Magnetocaloric materials](/source/Magnetocaloric_effect) are compounds that undergo a change in temperature upon exposure to a changing magnetic field{{Cite journal |last=Sandeman |first=Karl G. |date=2012-09-01 |title=Magnetocaloric materials: The search for new systems |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359646212001595 |journal=Scripta Materialia |series=Viewpoint Set No. 51: Magnetic Materials for Energy |volume=67 |issue=6 |pages=566–571 |doi=10.1016/j.scriptamat.2012.02.045 |arxiv=1201.3113 |bibcode=2012ScrMa..67..566S |issn=1359-6462}}. '''Shape Memory:''' The ability to return to an original shape after deformation. This transformation can be controlled through a change in temperature, magnetic field, electric field, or light{{Cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Yuzhan |last2=Rios |first2=Orlando |last3=Keum |first3=Jong K. |last4=Chen |first4=Jihua |last5=Kessler |first5=Michael R. |date=2016-06-08 |title=Photoresponsive Liquid Crystalline Epoxy Networks with Shape Memory Behavior and Dynamic Ester Bonds |url=https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6b04374 |journal=ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces |volume=8 |issue=24 |pages=15750–15757 |doi=10.1021/acsami.6b04374 |pmid=27245744 |bibcode=2016AAMI....815750L |osti=1256126 |issn=1944-8244}}{{Cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Zequan |last2=Li |first2=Hong |last3=Xie |first3=Ting |last4=Gao |first4=Wei |date=2024-08-23 |title=NIR-Responsive, Bionic, Shape Memory Polymers with Dynamically Cross-Linking Network |url=https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.4c01546 |journal=ACS Applied Polymer Materials |volume=6 |issue=16 |pages=9685–9693 |doi=10.1021/acsapm.4c01546 |bibcode=2024AAPM....6.9685L |url-access=subscription }}. * [Shape-memory alloy](/source/Shape-memory_alloy)s and [shape-memory polymer](/source/shape-memory_polymer)s are materials in which large deformation can be induced and the original shape recovered through temperature or stress changes ([pseudoelasticity](/source/pseudoelasticity)){{Cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Peiqian |last2=Li |first2=Ningxin |last3=Feng |first3=Tengfeng |last4=Luo |first4=Zhengyang |last5=Xiao |first5=Lei |last6=Ma |first6=Xinkai |title=Improving the mechanical properties and superelasticity of NiTiFe shape memory alloys through heterogeneous structures |journal=Materials Science and Engineering: A |date=2025 |volume=932 |article-number=148284 |doi=10.1016/j.msea.2025.148284 |s2cid=277564041 }}{{Cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Xiao |last2=Zhu |first2=Chongyu |last3=Xu |first3=Bo |last4=Qin |first4=Lang |last5=Wei |first5=Jia |last6=Yu |first6=Yanlei |title=Rapid, Localized, and Athermal Shape Memory Performance Triggered by Photoswitchable Glass Transition Temperature |url=https://pubs.acs.org/action/cookieAbsent |access-date=2026-04-24 |journal=ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces |date=2019 |volume=11 |issue=49 |pages=46212–46218 |doi=10.1021/acsami.9b17271 |pmid=31721557 |bibcode=2019AAMI...1146212Z |url-access=subscription }}. The shape memory effect results due to respectively martensitic phase change and induced elasticity at higher temperatures. A common example is nitinol. * [Polycaprolactone](/source/Polycaprolactone) (polymorph) can be molded by immersion in hot water. ['''Chromogenic'''](/source/chromism)''':''' A color change in response to electrical, optical, or thermal stimuli. * [Electrochromic](/source/Electrochromic) materials, which change their color or opacity with applied voltage (e.g., [liquid crystal display](/source/liquid_crystal_display)s){{Cite journal |last1=Gu |first1=Chang |last2=Jia |first2=Ai-Bo |last3=Zhang |first3=Yu-Mo |last4=Zhang |first4=Sean Xiao-An |title=Emerging Electrochromic Materials and Devices for Future Displays |url=https://pubs.acs.org/action/cookieAbsent |access-date=2026-04-24 |journal=Chemical Reviews |date=2022 |volume=122 |issue=18 |pages=14679–14721 |doi=10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c01055 |pmc=9523732 |pmid=35980039}}. * [Thermochromic](/source/Thermochromic) materials change in color depending on their temperature{{Cite journal |last1=Sadoh |first1=Airefetalo |last2=Hossain |first2=Samiha |last3=Ravindra |first3=Nuggehalli M. |date=2021-09-30 |title=Thermochromic Polymeric Films for Applications in Active Intelligent Packaging-An Overview |journal=Micromachines |volume=12 |issue=10 |pages=1193 |doi=10.3390/mi12101193 |doi-access=free |issn=2072-666X |pmc=8541014 |pmid=34683245}}. * [Photochromic](/source/Photochromic) materials change color in response to light (e.g., transition [sunglasses](/source/sunglasses) that darken when exposed to bright sunlight){{Cite journal |last1=Zou |first1=Jindou |last2=Liao |first2=Jimeng |last3=He |first3=Yunfei |last4=Zhang |first4=Tiantian |last5=Xiao |first5=Yuxin |last6=Wang |first6=Hailan |last7=Shen |first7=Mingyao |last8=Yu |first8=Tao |last9=Huang |first9=Wei |date=2024 |title=Recent Development of Photochromic Polymer Systems: Mechanism, Materials, and Applications |journal=Research (Washington, D.C.) |volume=7 |article-number=0392 |doi=10.34133/research.0392 |issn=2639-5274 |pmc=11184227 |pmid=38894714 |bibcode=2024Resea...7..392Z }}. * [Halochromic](/source/Halochromism) materials are commonly used materials that change their color as a result of changing acidity. One suggested application is for paints that can change color to indicate [corrosion](/source/corrosion) in the metal underneath them{{Cite journal |last1=Mohr |first1=Gerhard J. |last2=Kassal |first2=Petar |last3=Žuvić |first3=Iva |last4=Krawczyk |first4=Krzysztof K. |last5=Steinberg |first5=Matthew D. |last6=Steinberg |first6=Ivana Murković |date=2025-06-04 |title=Design of halochromic cellulosic materials and smart textiles for continuous wearable optical monitoring of epidermal pH |journal=Mikrochimica Acta |volume=192 |issue=7 |pages=405 |doi=10.1007/s00604-025-07259-x |issn=1436-5073 |pmc=12137401 |pmid=40468104}}. '''Stimuli Responsive:''' Responsive to environmental stimuli. * [Temperature-responsive polymers](/source/Temperature-responsive_polymers) are materials that changes in response to temperature{{Cite book |last1=Di Gennaro |first1=Mario |last2=Della Sala |first2=Francesca |last3=Fabozzi |first3=Antonio |last4=Longobardo |first4=Gennaro |last5=Borzacchiello |first5=Assunta |title=Thermoresponsive Materials: Properties, Design, and Applications |url=https://pubs.acs.org/action/cookieAbsent |access-date=2026-04-24 |website=pubs.acs.org |series=ACS Symposium Series |date=2023 |volume=1436 |pages=81–100 |doi=10.1021/bk-2023-1436.ch004 |isbn=978-0-8412-9725-8 }}. * [pH-sensitive polymers](/source/pH-sensitive_polymers) are materials that change in volume when the pH of the surrounding medium changes.{{cite journal | vauthors = Bordbar-Khiabani A, Gasik M | title = Smart hydrogels for advanced drug delivery systems | journal = International Journal of Molecular Sciences | date = 2022 | volume = 23 | issue = 7 | page = 3665 | doi = 10.3390/ijms23073665 | doi-access = free | pmid = 35409025 | pmc = 8998863 | bibcode = 2022IJMSc..23.3665B }} * Chemoresponsive materials change their [physical properties](/source/physical_properties) such as [optical properties](/source/optical_properties), size, volume, shape, [electrical conductivity](/source/electrical_conductivity), and [hydrophobicity](/source/hydrophobicity)/[hydrophilicity](/source/hydrophilicity) with the exposure of external chemical or biological compounds.''Chemoresponsive Materials /Stimulation by Chemical and Biological Signals'', Schneider, H.-J.; Ed:, ('''2015''')''The Royal Society of Chemistry,'' Cambridge https://dx.doi.org/10.1039/97817828822420Schneider, Hans-Jörg, ed. Chemoresponsive materials: smart materials for chemical and biological stimulation. Vol. 40. Royal Society of Chemistry, 2022. * [Smart inorganic polymers](/source/Smart_inorganic_polymers) showing tunable and responsive properties{{Cite journal |last1=Caminade |first1=Anne-Marie |last2=Hey-Hawkins |first2=Evamarie |last3=Manners |first3=Ian |date=2016-09-26 |title=Smart Inorganic Polymers |journal=Chemical Society Reviews |volume=45 |issue=19 |pages=5144–5146 |doi=10.1039/c6cs90086k |issn=1460-4744 |pmid=27711697 |url=https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/fa23f129-4bb2-4ecb-9481-5eebcb199e43 }}. '''Energy Conversion:''' Can transform stimuli into electrical current. * [Photovoltaic](/source/Photovoltaics) materials or [optoelectronics](/source/optoelectronics) convert light to electrical current{{Citation |last=Roundtable |first=National Research Council (US) Chemical Sciences |title=Optoelectronics and Photovoltaics |date=2012 |work=The Role of the Chemical Sciences in Finding Alternatives to Critical Resources: A Workshop Summary |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK100026/ |access-date=2026-04-24 |publisher=National Academies Press (US) |language=en}}. * [Thermoelectric materials](/source/Thermoelectric_materials) are used to build devices that [convert temperature differences into electricity and vice versa](/source/Thermoelectric_effect){{Cite journal |last1=Baskaran |first1=Pavithra |last2=Rajasekar |first2=Mani |date=2024-07-05 |title=Recent trends and future perspectives of thermoelectric materials and their applications |journal=RSC Advances |volume=14 |issue=30 |pages=21706–21744 |doi=10.1039/d4ra03625e |issn=2046-2069 |pmc=11229498 |pmid=38979465 |bibcode=2024RSCAd..1421706B }}. '''Optically Driven Mechanical Responsive:''' A change in mechanical properties in response to optical stimuli. * [Photomechanical materials](/source/Photomechanical_effect) change shape under exposure to light{{Cite web |title=Photomechanical Effect - an overview {{!}} ScienceDirect Topics |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/photomechanical-effect |access-date=2026-04-24 |website=www.sciencedirect.com}}. '''Self Repairing:''' The ability to repair mild damage with little to no external intervention. * [Self-healing material](/source/Self-healing_material)s have the intrinsic ability to repair damage due to normal usage, thus expanding the material's lifetime{{Cite journal |last1=Hu |first1=Zhen |last2=Zhang |first2=Dayu |last3=Lu |first3=Fei |last4=Yuan |first4=Weihao |last5=Xu |first5=Xirong |last6=Zhang |first6=Qian |last7=Liu |first7=Hu |last8=Shao |first8=Qian |last9=Guo |first9=Zhanhu |last10=Huang |first10=Yudong |title=Multistimuli-Responsive Intrinsic Self-Healing Epoxy Resin Constructed by Host–Guest Interactions |url=https://pubs.acs.org/action/cookieAbsent |access-date=2026-04-24 |journal=Macromolecules |date=2018 |volume=51 |issue=14 |pages=5294–5303 |doi=10.1021/acs.macromol.8b01124 |bibcode=2018MaMol..51.5294H |url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Xiaochun |last2=Huang |first2=Zhiyi |last3=Wu |first3=Jianxin |last4=Wu |first4=Jianyu |last5=Luo |first5=Hongsheng |last6=Sun |first6=Yingjuan |last7=Lin |first7=Xiaofeng |last8=Lin |first8=Wenjing |last9=Yi |first9=Guobin |date=2024-06-01 |title=Photothermal-responsive lignin-based polyurethane with mechanically robust, fast self-healing, solid-state plasticity and shape-memory performance |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014181302403304X |journal=International Journal of Biological Macromolecules |volume=271 |issue=Pt 1 |article-number=132499 |doi=10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.132499 |pmid=38777014 |issn=0141-8130|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last1=Gordon |first1=Melissa B. |last2=French |first2=Jonathan M. |last3=Wagner |first3=Norman J. |last4=Kloxin |first4=Christopher J. |date=2015-12-22 |title=Dynamic Bonds in Covalently Crosslinked Polymer Networks for Photoactivated Strengthening and Healing |journal=Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) |volume=27 |issue=48 |pages=8007–8010 |doi=10.1002/adma.201503870 |issn=1521-4095 |pmid=26524195 |bibcode=2015AdM....27.8007G }}{{Cite journal |last1=Alrefai |first1=Masa |last2=Maric |first2=Milan |date= 2025|title=Self-Healing Biobased Thermoreversible Polymer Networks by Photo-Diels-Alder Chemistry |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pol.20240466 |journal=Journal of Polymer Science |language=en |volume=63 |issue=5 |pages=1157–1169 |doi=10.1002/pol.20240466 |issn=2642-4150|doi-access=free }}. == See also == * [Smart polymer](/source/Smart_polymer) * [Programmable matter](/source/Programmable_matter) * [Sensors](/source/Sensors) * [Actuators](/source/Actuators) * [Artificial muscles](/source/Artificial_muscles) * [Thermally induced shape-memory effect (polymers)](/source/Thermally_induced_shape-memory_effect_(polymers)) * [Covalent adaptable network](/source/Covalent_adaptable_network)s / [Vitrimers](/source/Vitrimers) ==References== {{reflist}} == External links == *[http://pubs.rsc.org/bookshop/collections/series?issn=2046-0066 Smart Materials Book Series], Royal Society of Chemistry {{Authority control}} Category:Smart materials Category:Artificial materials --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Smart material](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_material) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_material?action=history)). 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