Photo/thermal/magnetic triple-stimuli-responsive bioinspired intelligent surface for cross-species functional regulation

Bioinspired intelligent surfaces enable real-time sensing and adaptive functional regulation via stimuli-responsive mechanisms, and are increasingly important for the development of embodied intelligence and intelligent wearable devices. However, most existing bioinspired intelligent surfaces operate under a single-stimulus paradigm, which limits their ability to function in coupled multiphysics environments. Moreover, integrating multi-stimulus responsiveness into the design-to-manufacturing pipeline in an energy-efficient and high-throughput manner remains a major bottleneck in this field. To address these challenges, we employed magnetically assisted assembly to fabricate a triple-responsive bioinspired intelligent surface (TRBIS) that enables coupled photo-, thermal-, and magnetic-responsive behaviors. TRBIS is constructed from a thermoresponsive shape-memory polyurethane (SMPU) composite incorporating carbonyl iron powder (CIP), which provides magnetic actuation and photo-thermal conversion. Before curing, an external magnetic field induces CIP alignment and chain formation along the field lines, enabling fast self-assembly of a high-aspect-ratio bionic micro-pillar array. Results demonstrate that TRBIS responds to photo, thermal, and magnetic stimuli individually and enables coordinated multi-stimulus regulation. Importantly, it integrates the complementary merits of the three modes, combining rapid and reversible magnetic actuation, thermally induced shape-memory fixation/retention, and photo-enabled non-contact triggering with localized, high-precision control. This strategy also enhances the structural stability and durability of TRBIS under repeated switching cycles. Ultimately, we demonstrated robust cross-species wetting regulation under coupled photo/thermal/magnetic stimuli, providing a generalizable route toward multi-stimuli-responsive platforms for intelligent microfluidics and micro-manipulation.