Soft matter roadmap^*

Journal of Physics Materials, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 7(1), P. 012501 - 012501

Published: Oct. 25, 2023

Abstract Soft materials are usually defined as made of mesoscopic entities, often self-organised, sensitive to thermal fluctuations and weak perturbations. Archetypal examples colloids, polymers, amphiphiles, liquid crystals, foams. The importance soft in everyday commodity products, well technological applications, is enormous, controlling or improving their properties the focus many efforts. From a fundamental perspective, possibility manipulating material properties, by tuning interactions between constituents applying external perturbations, gives rise an almost unlimited variety physical properties. Together with relative ease observe characterise them, this renders matter systems powerful model investigate statistical physics phenomena, them relevant hard condensed systems. Understanding emerging from mesoscale still poses enormous challenges, which have stimulated wealth new experimental approaches, including synthesis with, e.g. tailored self-assembling novel techniques imaging, scattering rheology. Theoretical numerical methods, coarse-grained models, become central predict materials, while computational approaches that also use machine learning tools playing progressively major role investigations. This Roadmap intends give broad overview recent possible future activities field experts covering various developments challenges characterisation, instrumental, simulation theoretical methods general concepts.

Language: Английский

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Engineering Anisotropy into Organized Nanoscale Matter

Chemical Reviews, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: Sept. 24, 2024

Programming the organization of discrete building blocks into periodic and quasi-periodic arrays is challenging. Methods for organizing materials are particularly important at nanoscale, where time required processes practically manageable in experiments, resulting structures interest applications spanning catalysis, optics, plasmonics. While assembly isotropic nanoscale objects has been extensively studied described by empirical design rules, recent synthetic advances have allowed anisotropy to be programmed macroscopic assemblies made from blocks, opening new opportunities engineer even quasicrystals with unnatural properties. In this review, we define guidelines leveraging individual direct matter. First, nature spatial distribution local interactions considered three rules that guide particle derived. Subsequently, examples literature examined context these rules. Within discussion each rule, delineate according dimensionality (0D-3D) blocks. Finally, use geometric considerations propose a general inverse design-based construction strategy will enable engineering colloidal crystals unprecedented structural control.

Language: Английский

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Progress in the Synthesis of Colloidal Machines

Accounts of Materials Research, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 5(3), P. 249 - 258

Published: Feb. 22, 2024

ConspectusFor the past decade, field of colloidal science has expanded collection particles to include an entire library subunits that can be isotropic or anisotropic in terms structural morphology chemical composition. Using subunits, assembled a variety static and dynamic structures. For this Account, we use umbrella term "dynamic colloids" describe capable movement, shape-shifting, any other type action response stimulus "static those are unresponsive such stimuli. We view colloids as access point machines, unique emerging subfield science. The assembly into machines differs from traditional self-assembly only final structures assembled, not methods used. Dynamic assemblies have capacity interact with their environment ways self-assemblies do not. Here, present current state toward introduction next wave machines.Machines ubiquitous nature synthetic systems, governing every aspect life. In mechanics, machine is device transmits modifies force motion. biology, nature's kinesin ATP synthetase essential realm, molecular nanomachines, recognized Nobel prize, diverse rotors elevators fabricated using bottom-up methods. On microscale, microscopic motors based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMs) been achieved via top-down micromachining. scale, conspicuously absent due, part, difficulty navigating combinatory design spaces. (100 nm 10 μm) line miniaturization machines. Due fabrication generally used creating colloids, one achieve complexity at smaller scale than possible approaches. would bridge gap between world its macroscopic counterparts, nanoworld biological machinery.Reported date apparatuses consist multiple components single composition come together perform some work. step complex containing act tandem work surrounding environment. envision repurposing originally intended machine. Computationally, idea extensively explored; however, synthetically, there limited exploration. order implement existing key development combinatorial

Language: Английский

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C60 building blocks with tuneable structures for tailored functionalities

Deleted Journal, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: unknown, P. 100030 - 100030

Published: March 1, 2025

Language: Английский

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Building blocks of non-Euclidean ribbons: size-controlled self-assembly via discrete frustrated particles

Soft Matter, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 19(5), P. 858 - 881

Published: Jan. 1, 2023

Geometric frustration offers a pathway to soft matter self-assembly with controllable finite sizes. While the understanding of in assembly derives almost exclusively from continuum elastic descriptions, current challenge is understand connection between microscopic physical properties misfitting "building blocks" and emergent behavior at mesoscale. We present analyze particle-based description what arguably best studied example for frustrated assembly, negative-curvature ribbon observed both assemblies chiral surfactants shape-frustrated nanoparticles. Based on our particle model, known as saddle wedge monomers, we numerically test shape interactions subunits supra-particle scale, specifically focussing propagation relaxation inter-particle strains, role extrinsic ribbons equilibrium regime width selection. Beyond intuitive misfit, show that self-limitation critically dependent range cohesive interactions, larger size requiring increasing short-range interparticle forces. Additionally, demonstrate non-linearities arising discrete alter self-limiting due strain-softening shape-flattened partial yielding highly strained bonds, which turn may give rise states hierarchical, multidomain assembly. Tracing regimes frustration-limited specific features shapes provides necessary guidance translating theory size-programmable into design intentionally-frustrated colloidal particles.

Language: Английский

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