Related papers: Revealing diatom-inspired materials multifunctiona…
We report the prediction of metallic quasione-dimensional $sp^{3}$-hybridized silicon allotropes in the form of prismanes. Silicon prismanes or polysilaprismanes are the silicon nanotubes of a special type constructed from the…
The methodologies of bioinspiration, biomimetics, and bioreplication are inevitably pointing to the incorporation of multifunctionality in engineered materials when designing ever more complex systems. Optimal multifunctionality is also the…
Structural colours have drawn wide attention for their potential as a future printing technology for various applications, ranging from biomimetic tissues to adaptive camouflage materials. However, an efficient approach to realise robust…
Chirality, the property of asymmetry, is of great importance in biological and physical phenomena. This prospective offers an overview of the emerging field of chiral bioinspired plasmonics and metamaterials, aiming to uncover nature's…
The architecture of novel metallic mesostructures obtained via self-organization of growing nanowires has been investigated. Seashell, fungus and lotus leafshaped structures are reproducibly formed by programmable pulse current…
Plants are increasingly becoming a source of inspiration for robotics and engineers to develop bioinspired, adaptive, and multifunctional machines. In this study, we propose a bioinspired aquatic machine that mimics the fruit of the water…
At the heart of the structured architecture and complex dynamics of biological systems are specific and timely interactions operated by biomolecules. In many instances, biomolecular agents are spatially confined to flexible lipid membranes…
Many organisms leverage an interplay between shape and activity to generate motion and adapt to their environment. Embedding such feedback into synthetic microrobots could eliminate the need for sensors, software, and actuators, yet current…
We assess the potentiality of several geometries of metallic nanodimers (one of the simplest thermoplasmonic systems) as candidates for active particles (nanoswimmers) propelled and controlled by light (phototaxis). The studied nanodimers…
The crystallographic texture is a key organization feature of many technical and biological materials. In these materials, especially hierarchically structured ones, the preferential alignment of the nano constituents is heavily influencing…
Nature hosts a wealth of materials showcasing intricate structures intertwining order, disorder, and hierarchy, delivering resilient multifunctionality surpassing perfect crystals or simplistic disordered materials. The engineering of such…
Nanopores are both a tool to study single-molecule biophysics and nanoscale ion transport, but also a promising material for desalination or osmotic power generation. Understanding the physics underlying ion transport through nano-sized…
Integration of complex photonic structures onto optical fiber facets enables powerful platforms with unprecedented optical functionalities. Conventional nanofabrication technologies, however, do not permit viable integration of complex…
Properties of engineering materials are generally influenced by defects such as point defects (vacancies, interstitials, substitutional defects), line defects (dislocations), planar defects (grain boundaries, free surfaces/nanostructures,…
Cells are fundamental building blocks of living organisms displaying an array of shapes, morphologies, and textures that encode specific functions and physical behaviors. Elucidating the rules of this code remains a challenge. In this work,…
Long range order and symmetry in heterogeneous materials architected on crystal lattices lead to elastic and inelastic anisotropies and thus limit mechanical functionalities in particular crystallographic directions. Here, we present a…
Cathodoluminescence, i.e. the radiation caused by the interaction of high-energy electron beams with matter, has gained a major interest in the analysis of minerals, semiconductors, and plasmonic resonances in nanoparticles. This radiation…
Plasmonic waveguides based on 2D materials, which enable the formations of guided modes confined around few-layered material, are promising plasmonic platforms for the miniaturization of photonic devices. Nonetheless, such waveguides…
Three-dimensional nanostructured functional materials are important systems, allowing new means to intricately control electromagnetic properties. A key problem is realising a 3D printing methodology upon the nanoscale that can yield a…
Thin bilayers made of elastic sheets with different strain recoveries can be used for dynamic shape morphing through ambient stimuli, such as temperature, mass diffusion, and light. As a fundamentally different approach to designing…