Wafer-thin nanopaper changes from firm to soft at the touch of a button: Bioinspired cellulose nanofibrils can be controlled by electricity / Strength and stiffness can be modulated via an electrical switch

Materials science likes to take nature and the special properties of living beings that could potentially be transferred to materials as a model. A research team has succeeded in endowing materials with a bioinspired property: Wafer-thin stiff nanopaper instantly becomes soft and elastic at the push of a button.