Harnessing the Power of Stimuli‐Responsive Polymers for Actuation

Abstract A common behavior found in nature is the ability of plants and animals to naturally respond to their surroundings through actuation. Stimuli‐responsive polymers exhibit the same ability to naturally respond to changes in their environment, although manipulating them in a manner that allows their responses to be harnessed to do work via actuation is far from trivial. In this Review, examples that use temperature, pH, light, and electric field (and other) stimulation for actuation are highlighted. The actuation can result in materials that can be used to grip, lift, and move objects as well as for their own movement. As tremendous progress is being made in this research area, it is hard to imagine a future without these materials impacting lives in some way.