Architected materials typically maintain their properties throughout their
lifetime. However, there is growing interest in the design and fabrication of
responsive materials with properties that adapt to their environment. Toward
this goal, a versatile framework to realize thermally programmable lattice
architectures capable of exhibiting a broader range of mechanical responses
is reported. The lattices are composed of two polymeric materials with
disparate glass transition temperatures, which are deterministically arranged
via 3D printing. By tailoring the local composition and structure, architected
lattices with tunable stiffness, Poisson’s ratio, and deformation modes
controlled through changes in the thermal environment are generated. The
platform yields lightweight polymer lattices with programmable composition,
architecture, and mechanical response.
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