Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42786237›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Polymer-inspired mechanical metamaterials.

Zhenyang Gao, Pengyuan Ren, Yifeng Dong, Gengchen Zheng, Minh-Son Pham, Xiao Shang, Shaojia Wang, Shuo Yang, Zijue Tang, Yongbing Li and 11 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

21 authors.

Zhenyang GaoState Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Pengyuan RenState Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Yifeng DongSchool of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
Gengchen ZhengState Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Minh-Son PhamDepartment of Materials, Imperial College London, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9497-2980
Xiao ShangDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-0888-5746
Shaojia WangDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Shuo YangDepartment of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Zijue TangState Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Yongbing LiShanghai Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacture for Thin-walled Structures, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Hua SunState Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Yi WuState Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. eagle51@sjtu.edu.cn.
Hongjian JiangState Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Lan ZhangResearch Center for Intelligent Robotics, Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou, China.
Tobin FilleterDepartment of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2609-4773
Lingyu KongChangxing Ocean Laboratory, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Kun ZhouSchool of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7660-2911
Haowei WangState Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Yang LuDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9280-2718
Yu ZouDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. mse.zou@utoronto.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0179-3642
Hongze WangState Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. hz.wang@sjtu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8484-1805

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 52441503, 52025058 and 523B2048
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Metamaterials benefit from unique architected patterns to achieve lightweight with exceptional mechanical properties inaccessible to conventional materials. Typical mechanical metamaterials are inspired by crystal-like lattice structures, whose closely packed frameworks often exhibit a rigid mechanical nature. Here, we present polymer-inspired metamaterials (PIMs) by programming deformation and strengthening mechanisms that mimic the mechanical roles of key constituent elements in polymer networks. By combining metamaterial programmability with polymer-inspired structures, we design crosslinking, proto-crystalline order, and entanglement in PIMs to enable macroscale strengthening mechanisms inspired by crosslink, molecular-density, and pre-stretch strengthening in polymers, expanding the metamaterial structure-property design space. This macroscale polymer-inspired programmability is demonstrated through PIM-based soft robotic components, including programmable humanoid tissues, robotic fingers, toes and feet, and soft biomimetic exoskeletons.

Identifiers

PMID42786237
PMCPMC13612586

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.