A shape programmable MXene-based supermolecular nanocomposite film

Stimulus-responsive MXene films demonstrate extensive application scenarios, such as artificial muscles and biomedical devices. However, the shape deformation of such materials entails continuous stimulation, thus limiting their implementation in specific fields when temporary shapes have to be maintained without external stimuli. This work fabricates a kind of shape-programmable MXene-based supermolecular nanocomposite film by integrating MXene and polyvinyl alcohol. In this film, MXene provides extra intermolecular hydrogen bond interaction between polyvinyl alcohol and acts as cross-linking points in the nanocomposite, thus endowing this film with a good shape-fixing property. Furthermore, with the osmotic plasticization of water on the polyvinyl alcohol chains, the as-prepared nanocomposite film demonstrates excellent water-responsive shape-memory performance. This material cannot only overcome the inability of traditional stimulus-responsive MXene films to maintain temporary structures without continuous stimulation, but also expands potential applications in some fields including controlled release and intelligent bio-robots.