articleGelsFeb 2, 2026GOLD OA

Design and Application of Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogels for 4D Printing: A Review of Adaptive Materials in Engineering

MFMuhammad F. SiddiqueFOFarag OmarAHAli H. Al‐Marzouqi

United Arab Emirates University

PubMed
Indexed incrossrefdoajpubmed

Abstract

Stimuli-responsive hydrogels are an emerging class of smart materials with immense potential across biomedical engineering, soft robotics, environmental systems, and advanced manufacturing. In this review, we present an in-depth exploration of their material design, classification, fabrication strategies, and real-world applications. We examine how a wide range of external stimuli-such as temperature, pH, moisture, ions, electricity, magnetism, redox conditions, and light-interact with polymer composition and crosslinking chemistry to shape the responsive behavior of hydrogels. Special attention is given to the growing field of 4D printing, where time-dependent shape and property changes enable dynamic,…

Citation impact

5
total citations
FWCI
37.42
Percentile
100%
References
273
Too recent for citation history.

Authors

3

Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Self-healing hydrogels
  • Smart material
  • Extensibility
  • Soft materials
  • Fabrication
  • Resource (disambiguation)
  • Perspective (graphical)
  • Field (mathematics)
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Industry, innovation and infrastructure
No related works found for this paper.

Funding