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Observations are reported on isotactic polypropylene (i) in a series of tensile tests with a constant strain rate on specimens annealed for 24 h at various temperatures in the range from 110 to 150 C and (ii) in two series of creep tests in…
Switchable adhesives have the potential to improve the manufacturing and recycling of parts and to enable new modes of motility for soft robots. Here, we demonstrate magnetically-switchable adhesion of a two-phase composite to non-magnetic…
Liquid crystal elastomers are rubber-like solids with liquid crystalline mesogens (stiff, rod-like molecules) incorporated either into the main chain or as a side chain of the polymer. These solids display a range of unusual…
The outstanding properties of graphene have laid the foundation for exploring graphene-like two-dimensional systems, commonly referred to as 2D-Xenes. Amongst them, silicene is a front-runner owing to its compatibility with current silicon…
Living and engineered systems rely on the stable coexistence of two interspersed liquid phases. Yet surface tension drives their complete separation. Here we show that stable droplets of uniform and tuneable size can be produced through…
Thin films of silicon oxide (SiOx) are mixtures of semiconductive c-Si nanoclusters (NC) embedded in an insulating g-SiO2 matrix. Tour et al. have shown that a trenched thin film geometry enables the NC to form semiconductive filamentary…
Biological cells in living tissues form dynamic patterns with local orientational order and topological defects. Here we demonstrate an approach to produce cell monolayer with the predesigned orientational patterns using human dermal…
In liquid crystal elastomers, the orientational order of liquid crystals is coupled with elastic distortions of crosslinked polymer networks. Previous theoretical research has described these materials through two different approaches: a…
Among the different types of switchable molecular compounds, sublimable Fe(II) SCO molecules provide a suitable platform to develop smart devices that respond to external stimuli. Here we report the synthesis, crystallographic structure and…
We consider single band of conduction electrons interacting with displacements of the transitional ions. In the classical regime strong enough coupling transforms the harmonic elastic energy for an ion to the one of the well with two deep…
Novel behavior in electroconvection (EC) has been detected in nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) under the condition of comparable timescales of the director relaxation and the period of the driving ac voltage. The studied NLCs exhibit standard…
Collective motion of self-propelled organisms or synthetic particles often termed active fluid has attracted enormous attention in broad scientific community because of it fundamentally non-equilibrium nature. Energy input and interactions…
We investigate the switching dynamics of multistable nematic liquid crystal devices. In particular we identify a remarkably simple 2-dimensional (2D) device which exploits hybrid alignment at the surfaces to yield a bistable response. We…
Freestanding tubular crystals offer a general description of crystalline order on deformable surfaces with cylindrical topology, such as single-walled carbon nanotubes, microtubules, and recently reported colloidal assemblies. These systems…
Reversible crosslinkers can enable several desirable mechanical properties, such as improved toughness and self-healing, when incorporated in polymer networks for bioengineering and structural applications. In this work, we performed…
Semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), such as MoSe$_2$ and WSe$_2$, exhibit unique optical and electronic properties. Vertical stacking of layers of one or more TMDs, to create heterostructures, has expanded the fields of…
Electrical control of oxygen off-stoichiometry of transition-metal oxides at room temperature is a desired strategy to simultaneously switch the electrical conductance and magnetism of the device. Although the use of the electrochemical…
Elastomers are artificial polymeric materials created for industrial and commercial applications. Depending on their purpose, they are performing in different species and structure modifications. Our studies focus on the systems of…
Enhanced EV market penetration requires durability of the battery with high energy throughput. For long-term cycle stability of silicon-graphite anode capable of high energy density, the reversible redox reactions are crucial. Here, we…
With the recent experimental verification that ferroelectric lattice distortions survive in the metallic phase of some materials, there is a desire to create devices that are both switchable and take advantage of the novel functionalities…