Extrusion of Heterogeneous Filament‐like Structures: A New Paradigm in Fabricating Soft Mechanical Gradient with Long Span
Soft‐to‐hard material interfaces found in multimaterial systems, such as microelectronics, prosthetics, body armor, and soft robotics, often suffer from mechanical mismatches that compromise their structural integrity overtime. These mismatches occur due to significant differences in mechanical prop...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley-VCH
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Small Science |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202500234 |
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| author | Akanksha Pragya Tushar K. Ghosh |
| author_facet | Akanksha Pragya Tushar K. Ghosh |
| author_sort | Akanksha Pragya |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soft‐to‐hard material interfaces found in multimaterial systems, such as microelectronics, prosthetics, body armor, and soft robotics, often suffer from mechanical mismatches that compromise their structural integrity overtime. These mismatches occur due to significant differences in mechanical properties, such as stiffness, between soft materials (e.g., polymers and biological tissues) and hard materials (e.g., metals and ceramics). In this study, an extrusion‐based approach is presented to fabricate continuous stiffness gradient materials using polydimethylsiloxane and thermoplastic expandable microspheres (EM). Morphological characterization shows the intended distribution of EM content along the length of the filament and the corresponding variation in tensile and bending stiffness. The gradient mechanical properties can be tuned by varying the EM expansion temperature. Compared to traditional fabrication techniques, this method allows for precise control over gradient magnitude and span, even post‐fabrication, offering greater flexibility for various applications. This work demonstrates a scalable and efficient solution for mitigating the mechanical mismatch at soft–hard material junctions, offering the potential for advanced material design in both industrial and biomedical applications. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d7d28bb2c8ba4191b51cd944ed44a7ac |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2688-4046 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Wiley-VCH |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Small Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-d7d28bb2c8ba4191b51cd944ed44a7ac2025-08-20T04:02:31ZengWiley-VCHSmall Science2688-40462025-08-0158n/an/a10.1002/smsc.202500234Extrusion of Heterogeneous Filament‐like Structures: A New Paradigm in Fabricating Soft Mechanical Gradient with Long SpanAkanksha Pragya0Tushar K. Ghosh1Fiber and Polymer Science Program Department of Textile Engineering Chemistry and Science Wilson College of Textiles North Carolina State University Raleigh NC 27606 USAFiber and Polymer Science Program Department of Textile Engineering Chemistry and Science Wilson College of Textiles North Carolina State University Raleigh NC 27606 USASoft‐to‐hard material interfaces found in multimaterial systems, such as microelectronics, prosthetics, body armor, and soft robotics, often suffer from mechanical mismatches that compromise their structural integrity overtime. These mismatches occur due to significant differences in mechanical properties, such as stiffness, between soft materials (e.g., polymers and biological tissues) and hard materials (e.g., metals and ceramics). In this study, an extrusion‐based approach is presented to fabricate continuous stiffness gradient materials using polydimethylsiloxane and thermoplastic expandable microspheres (EM). Morphological characterization shows the intended distribution of EM content along the length of the filament and the corresponding variation in tensile and bending stiffness. The gradient mechanical properties can be tuned by varying the EM expansion temperature. Compared to traditional fabrication techniques, this method allows for precise control over gradient magnitude and span, even post‐fabrication, offering greater flexibility for various applications. This work demonstrates a scalable and efficient solution for mitigating the mechanical mismatch at soft–hard material junctions, offering the potential for advanced material design in both industrial and biomedical applications.https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202500234co‐extrusionexpandable microspheresmechanical gradientstrain distributionsoft‐hard interface |
| spellingShingle | Akanksha Pragya Tushar K. Ghosh Extrusion of Heterogeneous Filament‐like Structures: A New Paradigm in Fabricating Soft Mechanical Gradient with Long Span Small Science co‐extrusion expandable microspheres mechanical gradient strain distribution soft‐hard interface |
| title | Extrusion of Heterogeneous Filament‐like Structures: A New Paradigm in Fabricating Soft Mechanical Gradient with Long Span |
| title_full | Extrusion of Heterogeneous Filament‐like Structures: A New Paradigm in Fabricating Soft Mechanical Gradient with Long Span |
| title_fullStr | Extrusion of Heterogeneous Filament‐like Structures: A New Paradigm in Fabricating Soft Mechanical Gradient with Long Span |
| title_full_unstemmed | Extrusion of Heterogeneous Filament‐like Structures: A New Paradigm in Fabricating Soft Mechanical Gradient with Long Span |
| title_short | Extrusion of Heterogeneous Filament‐like Structures: A New Paradigm in Fabricating Soft Mechanical Gradient with Long Span |
| title_sort | extrusion of heterogeneous filament like structures a new paradigm in fabricating soft mechanical gradient with long span |
| topic | co‐extrusion expandable microspheres mechanical gradient strain distribution soft‐hard interface |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202500234 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT akankshapragya extrusionofheterogeneousfilamentlikestructuresanewparadigminfabricatingsoftmechanicalgradientwithlongspan AT tusharkghosh extrusionofheterogeneousfilamentlikestructuresanewparadigminfabricatingsoftmechanicalgradientwithlongspan |