biostudies-literatureChen WChina Scholarship CouncilDeutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftDeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation)Alexander von Humboldt-StiftungAlexander von Humboldt-Stiftung (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation)Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und KulturChina Scholarship Council (CSC)Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur (Ministry for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony)6093https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11271527biostudies-literatureUnknown15(1)The strategy using water as a medium for dynamic modulation of competitive plasticity and viscoelasticity provides a unique perspective to attain adaptive materials. We reveal sustainable polymers, herein cellulose phenoxyacetate as a typical example, with unusual water-responsive dual-mechanic functionalities addressed via a chronological water training strategy. The temporal significance of such water-responsive mechanical behaviors becomes apparent considering that a mere 3-minute exposure or a prolonged 3-hour exposure to water induced different types of mechano-responsiveness. This endows the materials with multiple recoverable shape-changes during water and air training, and consequently even underlines the switchability between the pre-loaded stable water shapes (> 20 months) and thNature communicationsWater training initiates spatially regulated microstructures with competitive mechanics in hydroadaptive polymers.PMC11271527INST186/1281-1/FUGGRef 3.5-1221348-CHN-HFST-PWenbo ChenHuang CZhang KChen WBiehl PfalseWater training initiates spatially regulated microstructures with competitive mechanics in hydroadaptive polymers.The strategy using water as a medium for dynamic modulation of competitive plasticity and viscoelasticity provides a unique perspective to attain adaptive materials. We reveal sustainable polymers, herein cellulose phenoxyacetate as a typical example, with unusual water-responsive dual-mechanic functionalities addressed via a chronological water training strategy. The temporal significance of such water-responsive mechanical behaviors becomes apparent considering that a mere 3-minute exposure or a prolonged 3-hour exposure to water induced different types of mechano-responsiveness. This endows the materials with multiple recoverable shape-changes during water and air training, and consequently even underlines the switchability between the pre-loaded stable water shapes (> 20 months) and th2024-01-01T00:00:00Z2024 Jul2025-04-04T01:02:56.566Z2025-04-04T01:02:56.566ZS-EPMC112715273903021510.1038/s41467-024-50328-7