A composite material is formed by combining an expandable polymer having a charge with another polymer having an opposite charge to produce. In particular, the composite material can be prepared by combining the polymers with a medium such as and water, and expanding the mixture using a treatment that expands the mixture to produce, for example, insoluble porous foam-like composite

Provided are devices and methods that combine material anisotropy with nonlinear structural design to produce structures that precisely and sequentially actuate in response to multiple stimuli, such as water or non-polar solvents. These devices and methods can include bistable anisotropic elements that convert to monostable element upon exposure to a particular stimulus, and anisotropic distortions can be harnessed to change the geometric properties of the element to cross phase boundaries and trigger shape changes at precise times. One can incorporate complex logic into these devices and methods.