Preprogrammed Dynamic Microstructured Polymer Interfaces

The advancement of new-generation complex integrated responsive systems depends on the progress in the development of functional stimuli-responsive polymer components that could be put together and engineered to perform in concert as an ensemble. This progress report highlights recent substantial progress in the development of such soft-matter components capable of changes according to preprogrammed scenarios. The components interact via interfaces that play a key role in the performance of the microstructured materials. The list of the most important properties that can be changed by altering the interfaces upon external stimuli includes gating, transport, release, wetting, adhesion, and self-regeneration (healing) realized in different architectures of soft stimuli-responsive materials.