Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yuchen Wang, Rui Yin, Lishuai Jin, Mingzhu Liu, Yuchong Gao, Jordan Raney, Shu Yang
Summary: In this study, a 3D printable photoresponsive gold nanorod/LCE composite ink was developed for photothermal actuation. The printed filament showed a superior photothermal response and could be actuated into different shapes by controlling the area exposed to NIR light. A light-responsive soft robot was demonstrated using this customized composite structure and the ability to control locally exposed light.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Zui Liu, Guangqiang Guo, Junqiu Liao, Yongjie Yuan, Hailiang Zhang
Summary: This paper successfully achieved large deformation and fast deformation speed in photoresponsive LCEs by introducing multiple hydrogen bond components and biphenyl components. Additionally, the properties of LCEs were regulated by changing the content ratio of each component.
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Victoria Lee, Adeline Wihardja, Kaushik Bhattacharya
Summary: Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are rubber-like solids that incorporate nematic mesogens as a part of their polymer chains. Isotropic-genesis, polydo-main liquid crystal elastomers (I-PLCEs) have attracted scientific and technological interest due to their soft behavior, energy dissipation capabilities, stimuli response, and ease of synthesis. In this study, we present a macroscopic constitutive model that accurately captures the complex response of I-PLCEs to multi-axial loading, considering the evolution of domain patterns. We validate the model against experiments and demonstrate its numerical implementation.
JOURNAL OF THE MECHANICS AND PHYSICS OF SOLIDS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Li-Yun Hsu, Philipp Mainik, Alexander Muenchinger, Sebastian Lindenthal, Tobias Spratte, Alexander Welle, Jana Zaumseil, Christine Selhuber-Unkel, Martin Wegener, Eva Blasco
Summary: For microscale 4D photoresponsive actuators, a simple strategy is proposed to overcome the conflicting absorptions and allow for the fabrication of multi-photoresponsive 3D microstructures that can be actuated at different wavelengths of light. This is done using two-photon 3D laser printing and liquid crystalline elastomers. By incorporating different dyes into the microstructures, programmable and wavelength-selective actuations are achieved.
ADVANCED MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Nicolas del Giudice, Matthieu L'Her, Emma Scrafton, Youssef Atoini, Giuseppe Gentile, Benoit Heinrich, Romain Berthiot, Alessandro Aliprandi, Laurent Douce
Summary: This article describes an efficient synthetic pathway and the characterization of liquid crystal luminescent imidazolium salts based on a naphthalene unit. The study reveals the segregation between rigid ionic and flexible parts, leading to the emergence of mesomorphic properties. By varying the alkyl tail number, different architectures of self-organization in liquid crystal state can be induced.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Efthymia Ramou, Guilherme Rebordao, Susana I. C. J. Palma, Ana C. A. Roque
Summary: Liquid crystals, as a fascinating intermediate state of matter, show potential in sensing. Research suggests that surface-active imidazolium ionic liquids can be used to produce stable and oriented liquid crystal droplets effectively. These findings expand the applications of ionic liquids in the field of soft matter.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Nattapol Ma, Soracha Kosasang, Atsushi Yoshida, Satoshi Horike
Summary: Designing solid-state electrolytes for proton batteries at moderate temperatures is challenging due to poor moldability and thermal stability of most solid-state proton conductors. By converting crystalline coordination polymers (CPs) to glassy-state counterparts via melt-quenching, a glassy-state CP with low melting temperature and high proton conductivity was synthesized, showing potential for solid electrolyte applications. The first rechargeable all-solid-state H+ battery utilizing the new glassy-state CP was demonstrated, with a wide operating-temperature range of 25 to 110 degrees C.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhongyang Wang, Chaoqiuyu Wang, Yangyang Sun, Kai Wang, Joseph W. Strzalka, Shrayesh N. Patel, Paul F. Nealey, Christopher K. Ober, Fernando A. Escobedo
Summary: Leveraging the self-assembling behavior of liquid crystals for controlling ion transport is of great significance. In this study, a liquid crystal material was designed and prepared, which showed ion-conducting behavior by adding an ion-conducting salt. The material maintained a well-ordered smectic phase within a certain concentration range. The study also found that forming irregular interfaces and expanding the film can enhance ion conduction.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yi-Qiao Wang, Po-Chang Wu, Mon-Juan Lee, Wei Lee
Summary: ADLCs doped with azobenzene have unique photocontrollable and fast-response features, enabling the development of innovative LC-based biosensing technologies. A biosensing platform utilizing ADLCs was successfully constructed for the detection and quantitation of bovine serum albumin, showing improved sensitivity compared to spectrometric analysis.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hao Ren, Peng Yang, Haifeng Yu
Summary: Azopyridine is a versatile molecule that combines photoresponsive properties with supramolecular functions. This review summarizes the photochemical and photophysical properties of azopyridine derivatives in supramolecular states and highlights their applications in areas such as liquid crystals and light-driven devices.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Debalina Deb, Subhratanu Bhattacharya
Summary: A series of LiTFSI salt-doped ionanofluid electrolytes based on imidazolium ionic liquid were prepared, which included ionic liquid functionalized SnO2 nanoparticles. The obtained electrolytes exhibited high thermal stability, fragility, and lower crystallinity than the original ionic liquid electrolytes. The ionanofluid electrolytes displayed viscosity-decoupled ion transport properties and showed promising performance in lithium-ion batteries.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Giulia Vitale, Bruno Grandinetti, Silvia Querceto, Daniele Martella, Chiara Tesi, Corrado Poggesi, Elisabetta Cerbai, Diederik S. Wiersma, Camilla Parmeggiani, Cecilia Ferrantini, Leonardo Sacconi
Summary: Loss of muscular mechanical function is common in various diseases, and no current treatments can restore muscular contractility. This study introduces a light-stimulated biomimetic contractile unit (BCU) that can mimic the mechanical dynamics of native muscles. The integration of specific materials and stimulation systems allows fine-tuning of the BCU performance, paving the way for the development of novel muscle assist devices.
MACROMOLECULAR MATERIALS AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Xiao-Qian Wang, Alwin Ming-Wai Tam, Wei-Qiang Yang, Alexei D. D. Kiselev, Dong Shen, Vladimir Chigrinov, Hoi-Sing Kwok, Quan Li
Summary: The ability to achieve significant phase modulation at low applied field in liquid-crystal-based devices has promising applications in polarization control and wavefront shaping. This study demonstrates reflective wavefront shaping through geometric phase when circularly polarized light is Bragg reflected by a spatially orientated chiral layer, utilizing the polarization-selective reflectivity of chiral liquid crystals (CLCs). The introduction of a photosensitive chiral dopant enables the establishment of a hybrid aligned photoresponsive CLC system, which allows simultaneous light modulation of topological geometric phase and dynamic phase through helical pitch manipulation.
ADVANCED OPTICAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jilong Gu, Jie Luo, Jie Yang, Suai Tan, Caihong Wang, Yong Wu
Summary: The dynamic self-assembly of liquid crystals promotes the formation of hydrogen bond networks, which are crucial for anhydrous proton conduction. By synthesizing protic 1-alkyl-3H-imidazolium hydrogen sulfates with different alkyl chain lengths, liquid crystals with inherently exchangeable protons for proton conduction are achieved.
Article
Polymer Science
Zui Liu, Lifang He, Qin Gui, Yongjie Yuan, Hailiang Zhang
Summary: This study reported physically cross-linked photoresponsive liquid crystal elastomers with different alkoxy tail lengths and investigated their phase structure, photo-induced deformation property, and application. The results showed that the glass transition temperature decreased with increasing alkoxy tail length, while the clearing point temperature generally increased. Furthermore, the uniaxially oriented fibers exhibited large bending angles and fast photoresponse speed under UV light, with the bending angle decreasing with longer alkoxy tail length.
EUROPEAN POLYMER JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Kazuma Hamaguchi, Huanjun Lu, Shota Okamura, Satoshi Kajiyama, Junya Uchida, Shunsuke Sato, Go Watanabe, Yoshiki Ishii, Hitoshi Washizu, Goran Ungar, Takashi Kato
Summary: In this study, a combined experimental and computational approach was used to investigate the self-assembly and reentrant behavior of a single-component thermotropic liquid crystal for dynamically functional materials. A designed mesogenic molecule with an unprecedented sequence of layered smectic phases was synthesized, and it exhibited switching functions due to competition between mesogen stacking and conformational flexibility. Ion-conductive reentrant liquid-crystalline materials, showing multistep conductivity changes, were developed.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Masahiro Yoshizawa-Fujita, Hiroyuki Ohno
Summary: A zwitterion is a neutral compound with both a cation and an anion. Quaternary ammonium cations are commonly used for zwitterions and are also found in biological molecules like phospholipids. Zwitterions are dielectric, non-volatile, highly polar, and have a large dipole moment, making them versatile. They have been applied as electrolyte materials for high ionic conductivity in Li-ion batteries.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Lorenz Borsdorf, Lorena Herkert, Nils Baeumer, Llorenc Rubert, Bartolome Soberats, Peter A. Korevaar, Cole Bourque, Christos Gatsogiannis, Gustavo Fernandez
Summary: Solute-solvent interactions are crucial in various fields and have been recognized as an important factor in driving intermolecular association in aqueous media. However, the understanding of solute-solvent effects in complex self-assembly energy landscapes and pathway complexity is limited. This study unravels the role of solute-solvent interactions in controlling chain conformation effects and pathway selection in aqueous supramolecular polymerization. The results reveal previously underappreciated solvent-dependent chain conformation effects and their role in governing pathway complexity in aqueous media.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Shota Yamazaki, Mahoko Harada, Yuya Watanabe, Rongjian Lang, Takashi Kato, Osamu Haba, Kazuki Fukushima, Jiro Kumaki
Summary: Polylactide (PLA) forms extended-chain crystals in a Langmuir monolayer due to the acceleration of crystallization on the water surface. Star-shaped poly(L-lactide)s (PLLAs) with 2-12 arms were synthesized and their crystallization behavior in a monolayer was studied. PLLAs with 2-4 arms showed alignment in the same direction and folding at the central polyol unit, while PLLAs with 6 and 12 arms showed extension in opposite directions, likely due to steric hindrance. Star-shaped PLLAs have a reduced crystallization rate compared to linear PLA, possibly because of their unique crystallization behavior with aligned arms.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nils Baeumer, Eduardo Castellanos, Bartolome Soberats, Gustavo Fernandez
Summary: Crowding effects play a crucial role in the functionality of biological systems, but their role in artificial systems has been largely unexplored. In this study, the authors demonstrate that crowding effects have a strong and distinct control on the kinetics, pathways, and outcomes of supramolecular polymerization processes. The presence of a pre-formed supramolecular polymer as a crowding agent causes a model supramolecular polymer to undergo a morphological transformation in its self-assembly behavior, resulting in flower-like hierarchical assemblies. These results highlight the potential of accessing diverse morphologies and properties in supramolecular polymers by leveraging crowding effects.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Junya Uchida, Anna Niwa, Mina Hasome, Rie Makiura, Nicholas L. Abbott, Takashi Kato
Summary: Self-assembled bioconjugated dendritic mesogens with arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptide sequence were synthesized and used to develop new biofunctional aqueous/liquid crystalline interfaces. It was found that RGD peptide-conjugated forklike mesogens induced the homeotropic alignment of liquid crystals at the aqueous interfaces, resulting in distinct optical changes upon specific binding of target proteins. Molecular insights into the orientation and stimuli-responsiveness of these mesogens were obtained based on measurements of Langmuir films and self-assembled properties. A new molecular design of bioconjugated mesogens was proposed to couple biomolecular interactions at the aqueous interfaces with the ordering transition of liquid crystals, with potential applications in biomolecular sensing.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Llorenc Rubert, Md Faizul Islam, Andrew B. Greytak, Rahul Prakash, Mark D. Smith, Rosa Maria Gomila, Antonio Frontera, Linda S. Shimizu, Bartolome Soberats
Summary: We reported the self-assembly of a dendronized bis-urea macrocycle into two-dimensional nanosheets via a cooperative mechanism. The self-assembly mode of the macrocycle changed drastically in different solvents, and the formation of two-dimensional networks was promoted by solvent effects and a sophisticated hydrogen-bonding pattern.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Junya Uchida, Ryuta Kiguchi, Riki Kato, Takashi Kato
Summary: We developed a new thermotropic colloidal liquid-crystalline organic/inorganic hybrid material consisting of a hydroxyapatite/poly(acrylic acid) nanorod and a dendritic forklike mesogen. The surface modification of the nanorod with the mesogen resulted in the formation of thermotropic colloidal liquid crystals. These biomineral-based materials have potential for the development of new stimuli-responsive sustainable materials.
HELVETICA CHIMICA ACTA
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Takahiro Mikami, Riki Kato, Yoshihiro Hosokawa, Nobuyoshi Miyamoto, Takashi Kato
Summary: A synthetic morphology-control method is reported to prepare 2D and 1D free-standing zinc oxide materials with ordered and nanoporous structures by converting liquid-crystalline zinc hydroxide carbonate (ZHC) nanoplates. The resultant zinc oxide films and microfibers exhibit nanoporous structures and preferred crystallographic orientations, preserving the alignment of ZHC nanoplates before conversion.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Che-Hao Wu, Masafumi Yoshio
Summary: A durable layered liquid-crystalline (LC) polymer film has been developed through the self-assembly of a novel photopolymerizable itaconate derivative containing a non-volatile ionic liquid and a poly(ethylene glycol)-based crosslinker. The shear-aligned layered structure exhibits enhanced ion transport and Young's modulus. These robust ionic LC electrolytes can be applied to soft actuators, opening up new possibilities for electromechanical energy conversion in next-generation soft robots.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Taiki Hoshino, Masanari Nakayama, Yoshihiro Hosokawa, Kohei Mochizuki, Satoshi Kajiyama, Yoshiki Kohmura, Takashi Kato
Summary: Self-organized supramolecular assemblies are commonly found in nature and technology, and their reversible non-covalent bonding allows for dynamic functions such as stimuli-responsive switching and self-healing. However, the specific dynamics of these assemblies remain unclear due to the diverse molecular motions generated by multiple intermolecular interactions.
NANOSCALE ADVANCES
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Eduardo Castellanos, Rosa Maria Gomila, Rasitha Manha, Gustavo Fernandez, Antonio Frontera, Bartolome Soberats
Summary: We report two approaches to prepare liquid-crystalline J-aggregates based on bis-core-dendronized naphthalene diimides (NDIs). NDI 1 self-assembles via hydrogen bonds into a columnar LC structure, enabling strong J-type exciton coupling. NDI 2 self-assembles into columnar H-aggregates, but mechanical shearing induces the formation of weakly coupled J-aggregates. This work provides highly appreciated materials for photonic applications.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Konstantin Iakoubovskii, Masafumi Yoshio
Summary: This article reports on columnar liquid-crystalline thiophene-oxadiazole molecules that can be oriented by an electric field and exhibit photodiode properties with an open-circuit voltage of 1V. Their yellow luminescence can be excited by UV-visible or infrared light. Furthermore, their room-temperature phosphorescence becomes brighter upon heating.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Siyu Cao, Chengyang Liu, Masafumi Yoshio
Summary: This paper reports on the development of novel nanostructured ionic electroactive polymer actuators based on photopolymerizable zwitterionic columnar liquid crystals complexed with a protic ionic liquid. The trilayer actuators can generate a bending strain of 0.86% under AC 2 V and a force of 4.68 mN under DC 2 V. The thickness of the nanostructured electrolytes and the content of ionic liquid greatly affect the bending deformation and force generation of the actuators.
MATERIALS CHEMISTRY FRONTIERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Takayuki Ota, Valentina Montagna, Yuji Higuchi, Takashi Kato, Masaru Tanaka, Haritz Sardon, Kazuki Fukushima
Summary: This study investigates the ring-opening reactions of γ-carbonyl-substituted ε-caprolactones and finds that chain propagation hardly occurs, as the propagating species preferentially transform to α-substituted five-membered lactones. This study contributes to understanding the chemistry of ring-opening reactions of substituted lactones for designing functional degradable polymers.
