Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Chen Shen, Zizheng Wang, Rui Huang, Jinying Bao, Zhaozhong Li, Lanying Zhang, Ruochen Lan, Huai Yang
Summary: Dynamic photonic crystals with tunable structural colors have been widely studied for applications in anti-counterfeiting devices, decoration, and detection. In this study, photonic crystals based on cholesteric liquid crystalline network (CLCN) were prepared to exhibit humidity- and SO2 gas-responsive behaviors. The humidity-responsive color changes of the CLCN film were due to the swelling/deswelling of the matrix under different humidity conditions. However, treatment with SO2 gas caused the film to lose its humidity responsiveness by converting the carboxylic salt to acid.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ruochen Lan, Jinying Bao, Zhaozhong Li, Zizheng Wang, Chenjie Song, Chen Shen, Rui Huang, Jian Sun, Qian Wang, Lanying Zhang, Huai Yang
Summary: Design and fabrication of a fluorescent cholesteric liquid crystalline network (CLCN) film with programmable visible patterns and photo-rewritable fluorescent patterns has been achieved. This multifunctional optical label can store distinct information in reflective and emissive modes, making it highly potential for anti-counterfeiting and information encryption purposes.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ruochen Lan, Yanzi Gao, Chen Shen, Rui Huang, Jinying Bao, Zhongping Zhang, Qian Wang, Lanying Zhang, Huai Yang
Summary: By preparing a bilayer film composed of liquid crystalline networks (LCN) film and hydrochromic aggregation-induced-emission molecule-doped hydrophilic layer, deformation and fluorescence color change under different relative humidity are achieved. The influence of hydrophilic matrix content on the film properties is investigated. Different modes of deformation are enabled by the mechanical anisotropy of the uniform-aligned LCN film.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Chia-Wei Chang, Chia-Ti Wu, Yu-Liang Lin, Lin-Ruei Lee, Huan-Wei Lin, Bhaskarchand Gautam, Yu-Hsuan Tseng, Chih-Wei Liao, Chun-Ting Chang, Jiun-Tai Chen
Summary: This study investigates the photo-regulated electrical conductivities of PIL films using [C(3)mim-MA]-[TFSI], azobisisobutyronitrile, and poly-(ethyleneglycol) dimethacrylate as an ionic liquid monomer, an initiator, and a crosslinker, respectively. The results show that stretchable and photo-responsive conductive PIL-SP films can be fabricated, which can be reversibly converted to PIL-merocyanine films under UV and visible light illuminations. This study expands the applications of PIL materials.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Bingxiu Xue, Fang He, Xiaopeng Zhao, Jianbo Yin
Summary: By changing the number of spacer arms, the electrorheological (ER) effect of poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) can be modulated. The results showed that increasing the number of spacer arms enhanced the ER effect of the material, mainly due to the increase in interfacial polarization strength and the decrease in electrode polarization. Activation energy analysis indicated that increasing the number of spacer arms promoted ion pair dissociation and ion number density but inhibited long-range movement of ions.
EUROPEAN POLYMER JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Peng Ren, Xiaodong Chen, Luetao Sun, Quanqian Lyu, Lianbin Zhang, Jintao Zhu
Summary: In this work, a solvent responsive invisible photonic pattern (SRIPP) with high contrast is reported by polymerizing two monomers of acrylamide (AAm) and poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA) with different solubility parameters in different regions of poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) photonic gels. The contrast of photonic patterns is significantly improved, increasing naked-eye visualization. By adjusting the photonic band gap (PBG) of photonic gels, fluorescence emission can be regulated and fluorescence patterns can be displayed on the SRIPP. This material shows great potential in information storage and multiple-mode anti-counterfeiting applications.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Florian Malotke, Tobias Thiele, Jochen S. Gutmann, Michael Giese
Summary: A modular tool box for photoresponsive cholesteric liquid crystals based on hydrogen-bonded assemblies is developed, allowing tunable structural coloration. The blue shift in cholesteric liquid-crystalline thin films is attributed to the photoinduced destruction of smectic clusters, resulting in a contraction of the helical structure. Furthermore, the use of a stereolithography 3D printer enables the direct transfer of digital information into a multicolor photonic pattern.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Review
Optics
Hakam Agha, Yong Geng, Xu Ma, Deniz Isinsu Avsar, Rijeesh Kizhakidathazhath, Yan-Song Zhang, Ali Tourani, Hriday Bavle, Jose-Luis Sanchez-Lopez, Holger Voos, Mathew Schwartz, Jan P. F. Lagerwall
Summary: The molding of cholesteric liquid crystal into a spherical shape creates Cholesteric Spherical Reflectors (CSRs), which have significant optical consequences and potential applications. The omnidirectional chiral Bragg diffraction of CSRs makes them easily distinguishable retroreflectors using machine vision, while also being imperceptible to human vision. This opens up opportunities for various transformative technologies and their integration into human-populated environments.
LIGHT-SCIENCE & APPLICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Zizheng Wang, Ruochen Lan, Jinying Bao, Chen Shen, Rui Huang, Chenjie Song, Lanying Zhang, Huai Yang
Summary: Liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) is a promising candidate for intelligent soft materials due to its programmable anisotropy and elasticity. This study proposes a novel strategy to fabricate reprogrammable humidity-responsive LCP materials enabled by dynamic ionic cross-links. By selectively cross-linking or solution treatment, distinctive humidity-driven motions of the LCP film can be achieved. The behavior of the novel actuator can be manipulated by mesogens alignment or spatially ionic treatment, providing a feasible and robust strategy for fabricating complex humidity-driven soft robots.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Yekai Wan, Haoran Liu, Kun Yan, Xiufang Li, Zhentan Lu, Dong Wang
Summary: A dual stimuli-responsive wet-spun microfiber-shaped hydrogel was fabricated by injecting a hot blend of alginate (ionic-responsive) and agar (temperature-responsive) into a pre-cooling and metal cation-containing coagulation bath. The microstructure of the fiber can be manipulated by the extrusion rate and cooling temperature, resulting in an anisotropic shrinkage characteristic and grooved/wrinkled surface patterns. The integration of metal cations (Ca2+ and/or Zn2+) significantly improved the hydrogel mechanical properties and enhanced blue fluorescent intensity, enabling pH-shape memory and sustainable antibacterial properties.
CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Shuoning Zhang, Chang Sun, Jianying Zhang, Shengyu Qin, Jiale Liu, Yunxiao Ren, Lanying Zhang, Wei Hu, Huai Yang, Dengke Yang
Summary: With the increasing demand for diverse and secure information deliveries, the scientific community has shown great interest in advanced security tags for data encryption. The combination of multisource stimuli-responsive mechanisms holds promise for achieving composite dynamic information storage. In this study, mechano- and chemochromism cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers (CLCEs) were prepared using a rhodamine lactam-based functional trigger through two different strategies, one-pot method and postfunctionalization method. The investigated performances of the CLCEs from these two strategies demonstrate their effectiveness in endowing materials with new functions and their suitability for various application scenarios. The composite material combines the force-induced structural periodicity variation of CLCE and the pigmentary and fluorescent properties changes of the functional trigger caused by the chemical environment. The orthogonal construction of dynamic structural color patterns and reversible pigmentary and fluorescent color patterns enables double encryption mode in the information stored in CLCE, showing great potential in information storage and anti-counterfeiting.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Wei Wei, Muhammad Amjad Farooq, Huiming Xiong
Summary: This new type of polyether-based cholesteric liquid crystalline copolymers can achieve strong circularly polarized luminescence with high purity and broad tunability. By altering composition or temperature, the reflection colors across the infrared and visible light regions can be continuously tuned. Introducing achiral dyes in the unique structure can generate strong circularly polarized luminescence with high dissymmetry factors and distinct handedness.
Article
Optics
Vladimir N. Morozov, Mikhail A. Klimovich, Alexey A. Kostyukov, Alexandr V. Belousov, Maria A. Kolyvanova, Tatiana D. Nekipelova, Vladimir A. Kuzmin
Summary: In this study, the results showed the comparison of FRET efficiency between DNA-specific fluorescent dyes in DNA solution and DNA cholesteric liquid-crystalline dispersion. It was found that FRET efficiency was higher in the DNA CLCD compared to DNA solution, but the maximum FRET efficiency was still higher in the DNA solution. Additionally, the study demonstrated the process of DNA CLCD particle formation.
JOURNAL OF LUMINESCENCE
(2022)
Article
Crystallography
Sangwok Bae, Dong-Sun Park, Suk-Won Choi
Summary: A prototype opaque-type colored silicon-based solar cell integrated with liquid crystalline cholesteric layers was developed using only organic components and wet processes, without the need for complicated vacuum processes. However, the evaluated performance of the prototype solar cells was found to be inferior to other types of colored solar cells due to limitations of the cholesteric layers, including limited reflectance (~50%), narrow color gamut, and viewing angle-dependent color changes. Strategies for improving the performance of colored solar cell modules integrated with cholesteric layers are proposed.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Brian P. Radka, Kyung Min Lee, Nicholas P. Godman, Timothy J. White
Summary: Prior research has shown that polymer networks can stabilize the CLC phase and achieve tunable and switchable electro-optic reconfiguration. Recent studies have demonstrated that structural chirality can be retained in polymer networks stabilized by liquid crystalline monomers. In this study, we show that structural chirality can also be retained in aliphatic, non-liquid crystalline monomers, and PSCLCs prepared from these monomers exhibit reversible electro-optic responses. The role of surface affinity and crosslink density in transferring structural chirality to the liquid crystal media is also explored.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chenjie Song, Yuhan Zhang, Jinying Bao, Zizheng Wang, Lanying Zhang, Jian Sun, Ruochen Lan, Zhan Yu, Siquan Zhu, Huai Yang
Summary: A versatile method is reported to fabricate light-driven actuator by covalently cross-linking polyurethane (PU) into liquid crystalline polymer networks (PULCN). This material not only possesses the shape memory properties of PU but shows shape-changing behavior of LCPs. This study may provide a new route for the fabrication of programmable and mechanically robust light-driven soft actuator.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Wei Sun, Dongyuan Ni, Qian Wang
Summary: In this study, a new 3D porous metallic carbon monolith (Hex-C568) consisting of PHP-graphene nanoribbons was designed and found to be thermally, dynamically, and mechanically stable. The metallicity of Hex-C568 is attributed to delocalized electrons in the p-orbitals of sp(2) hybridized carbon atoms. It is a promising anode material for Na-ion batteries with high performance, exhibiting reversible gravimetric and volumetric capacities, low diffusion energy barrier, low average open-circuit voltage, and small volume change during charging/discharging process.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yanyan Chen, Dongyuan Ni, Yiheng Shen, Chenxin Zhang, Qian Wang
Summary: Motivated by the unique geometries and properties of penta-graphene (PG) and its derivatives, a new stable 3D carbon allotrope, penta-C72, is proposed and confirmed through first-principles calculations. Penta-C72 is found to be a semiconducting material with an indirect bandgap of 2.12 eV and exhibits anisotropic lattice thermal conductivities. The study expands the family of carbon materials by assembling PG nanotubes.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Dongyuan Ni, Xiaoyin Li, Wei Sun, Akira Yoshikawa, Yoshiyuki Kawazoe, Qian Wang
Summary: Using first-principles calculations, we have designed a stable 3D all-sp2 carbon allotrope called oC32, which consists of dehydrogenized helical polyethylenes and dehydrogenized ethylenes. The absence of spin-orbit coupling leads to the existence of a Weyl-like loop in oC32, protected by time-reversal, spatial inversion, and mirror reflection symmetries. By breaking the spatial symmetries of oC32, topological phase transitions occur from the Weyl-like loop state to Weyl-like point states, which can be attributed to 2D sheets embedded in oC32. Carbon materials exhibit rich topological states and phase transitions due to their flexible bonding and negligible spin-orbit interaction.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY OF SOLIDS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Fan Zhou, Ruochen Lan, Zhi Li, Bingyao Liu, Qin Xie, Jinying Bao, Junling Liu, Peng Gao, Huai Yang, Yanfeng Zhang, Zhongfan Liu
Summary: A new thermochromic light modulator is developed by combining the electro-heating capability of graphene and unique optical properties of small-molecule-weight cholesteric liquid crystal (ChLC). The modulator allows actively tunable color filtering with widely adjustable hue and saturation properties. Potential applications in smart windows and photography are demonstrated.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Zizheng Wang, Jinying Bao, Rui Huang, Chenjie Song, Chen Shen, Jian Sun, Ruochen Lan, Lanying Zhang, Huai Yang
Summary: In this study, a light and humidity dual responsive soft actuator was developed by combining light-sensitive liquid crystalline networks and hydrophilic poly(2-carboxyethyl acrylate-co-acrylic acid) layers. The results demonstrated the potential of this actuator in the fabrication of intelligent soft robots.
SCIENCE CHINA-MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Wei Sun, Dongyuan Ni, Changsheng Hou, Qian Wang, Yoshiyuki Kawazoe, Puru Jena
Summary: In recent years, significant efforts have been made to design 3D porous metallic carbon allotropes for the anode materials of metal-ion batteries. This study proposes a new 3D carbon monolith, Hex-C57, with 5-7 nanoribbons as the building blocks, exhibiting high reversible capacity and low diffusion barriers.
JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chenxin Zhang, Jie Sun, Yiheng Shen, Cunzhi Zhang, Qian Wang, Akira Yoshikawa, Yoshiyuki Kawazoe, Puru Jena
Summary: Twisting in layered materials can effectively tune the interactions between particles or quasi-particles. In this study, the response of phonon coherence in bilayer penta-NiN2 to twisting is investigated, using the unified theory of phonon transport and high order lattice anharmonicity, as well as the self-consistent phonon theory. The results show that twisting reduces the lattice thermal conductivity by 80.6% and increases the contribution of phonon coherence by an order of magnitude. This work provides fundamental insights into the phonon interaction in twisted pentagonal sheets.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Muhammad Azhar Nazir, Yiheng Shen, Chenxin Zhang, Qian Wang
Summary: Hexagon, pentagon, and four-membered ring-based carbon allotropes have been extensively studied in recent years due to their novel properties and vast applications. In this work, a novel trigonal ring-based three-dimensional carbon structure, Tri-C-20, composed of double-fused trigons connected to hexagons, is proposed. State-of-the-art calculations reveal that Tri-C-20 is not only mechanically stable but also thermally stable at high temperatures. Tri-C-20 exhibits semiconducting behavior with a high Vicker's hardness and ultralow lattice thermal conductivity, showing potential for thermal management applications.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yanyan Chen, Chenxin Zhang, Jie Sun, Dongyuan Ni, Cunzhi Zhang, Qian Wang
Summary: In this study, we investigate the effect of twisting on the phonon transport properties of Penta-graphene (PG) using density functional theory and the phonon Boltzmann transport equation. The results show that interlayer twisting significantly reduces the in-plane lattice thermal conductivity of PG by enhancing three- and four-phonon scattering and increasing phonon coherence due to the complex atomic configuration and high anharmonicity in twisted bilayer PG.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ruochen Lan, Wenbo Shen, Wenhuan Yao, Jingyu Chen, Xinyu Chen, Huai Yang
Summary: Inspired by nature, humidity-responsive materials and devices have attracted significant interest from scientists in multiple disciplines, ranging from chemistry, physics and materials science to biomimetics. Owing to their superiorities, including harmless stimulus and untethered control, humidity-driven materials have been widely investigated for application in soft robots, smart sensors and detectors, biomimetic devices and anticounterfeiting labels. Especially, humidity-responsive liquid crystalline materials are particularly appealing due to the combination of programmable and adaptive liquid crystal matrix and humidity-controllability, enabling the fabrication of advanced self-adaptive robots and visualized sensors.
MATERIALS HORIZONS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Muhammad Azhar Nazir, Yiheng Shen, Arzoo Hassan, Qian Wang
Summary: The development of tunable electronic properties in van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures is currently of great interest for technical applications. In this study, a vdW heterostructure is designed by vertically stacking a metallic carbon nanosheet (biphenylene network, BPN) and semiconducting PdSe2 sheets. Theoretical calculations show that the intrinsic properties of the PdSe2 sheet are well preserved when it forms a vdW contact with BPN. The heterostructure exhibits an n-type Schottky contact with a Schottky barrier of 0.54 eV and a negative band-bending of 0.56 eV at the lateral interface, with electrons as the major transport carriers. These features make the PdSe2/BPN heterojunction promising for applications in field-effect transistors.
MATERIALS ADVANCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yanyan Chen, Dongyuan Ni, Yiheng Shen, Chenxin Zhang, Qian Wang
Summary: Motivated by penta-graphene and its derivatives, a new stable 3D carbon allotrope called penta-C72 is proposed. It is composed of penta-graphene nanotubes connected in a tip-to-tip manner. First-principles calculations confirm its dynamical, thermal, and mechanical stabilities, and reveal that penta-C72 is a semiconducting material with an indirect bandgap of 2.12 eV. The anisotropic lattice thermal conductivities of penta-C72 at 300 K are determined to be 97.32 W/mK along the x direction and 179.35 W/mK along the z direction, which are significantly lower than those of diamond (2664.93 W/mK) and carbon nanotube-based bct-C4 (1411.02 W/mK). A detailed analysis suggests that the soften acoustic phonon modes, low Young's modulus, and strong anharmonicity contribute to the low lattice thermal conductivity. This study expands the carbon materials family by assembling penta-graphene nanotubes.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Mohsin Hassan Saeed, Moon-Young Choi, Kitae Kim, Jin-Hyeong Lee, Keumbee Kim, Dowon Kim, Se-Um Kim, Hyun Kim, Suk-kyun Ahn, Ruochen Lan, Jun-Hee Na
Summary: This study presents a monodomain liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE) driven by electrostatic force, which enables fast multidirectional bending, oscillation, rotation, and complex actuation with a high degree of freedom. By tuning material parameters, fast multimodal shape changes can be achieved. This research provides a possibility for the electrostatically controllable isothermal manipulation of fast and multimode soft actuators.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Changsheng Hou, Yiheng Shen, Jiaqi Xin, Yaguang Guo, Qian Wang
Summary: This study proposes a new 3D porous borocarbonitride material with intrinsic polarization and remarkable electromechanical coupling coefficient, second harmonic generation response, and shift current value, which could pave the way for the design of high-performance pyroelectric materials.
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2023)
