Data from research to develop alginate/vermiculite composite hydrogels for 4D printing

This work presents a 4D-printable hydrogel based on sodium alginate (SA) amalgamated with calcium ion-infused 2D vermiculite sheets (CaV), which allows in-situ physical crosslinking. The resultant hydrogels exhibit notable gel-like behavior and substantially enhanced rheological characteristics and 3D printability, leading to printed constructs with excellent shape fidelity and mechanical properties. The successful printing of various structures like grids, flower models, and cylindrical shapes was demonstrated. Furthermore, the 3D-printed structures manifest appealing shape-morphing capabilities, transitioning from a planar configuration into tubular or folded forms within seconds to minutes, with morphing speed tunable via solvent treatments. This work provides insights into the development of biopolymer-based functional hydrogels for 4D printing.The data from this research include:3D printing video demonstrations: 3D printing video demonstrations of composite hydrogels (SA-CaV) developed in this projectCompression test: Compression test results of 3D-printed cylindrical samples made from SA-CaV composite hydrogelsPrintability: Demonstration of the 3D printability of composite hydrogels (SA-CaV) developed in this projectRheological properties: Rheological properties of composite hydrogels (SA-CaV) developed in this projectSEM images: SEM images of 2D vermiculite sheets prepared by the ion exchange method in this projectShape morphing-Flower model: Shape morphing results of a 3D-printed flower model using the composite hydrogelsShape morphing-Grid models: Shape morphing results of a 3D-printed flower model using the composite hydrogelsShape morphing-Video demonstration: Shape morphing video demonstration of composite hydrogels (SA-CaV) developed in this projectStability test: Stability test results of 3D printed composite hydrogels in PBS solutionTEM: TEM images of 2D vermiculite sheets prepared by the ion exchange method in this project