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Ionic microgels are soft colloidal particles, composed of crosslinked polymer networks, that ionize and swell when dispersed in a good solvent. Swelling of these permeable, compressible particles involves a balance of electrostatic,…
Ionic polymer actuators, in essence, consist of ion exchange polymers sandwiched between layers of electrodes. They have recently gained recognition as promising candidates for soft actuators due to their lightweight nature, noise-free…
Recently there has been an increase in demand for soft and biocompatible electronic devices capable of withstanding large stretch. Ionically conductive polymers present a promising class of soft materials for these emerging applications due…
Over the past decade or two, the concept has emerged of using multiple types of weak interactions simultaneously to enhance the mechanical properties of elastomers. These weak interactions include physical entanglements, hydrogen bonds,…
Modeling ion correlations in inhomogeneous polymers and soft matters with spatially varying ionic strength or dielectric permittivity remains a great challenge. Here, we develop a new theory which systematically incorporates electrostatic…
Ion transporters in Nature exhibit a wealth of complex transport properties such as voltage gating, activation, and mechanosensitive behavior. When combined, such processes result in advanced ionic machines achieving active ion transport,…
Soft adhesive pads are needed for many robotics applications, and one approach is based on electroadhesion. Here we present a general analytic model and numerical results for electroadhesion for soft solids with arbitrary time-dependent…
Acoustic metamaterials offer exceptional control over wave propagation, but their potential remains unfulfilled due to fabrication constraints. Conventional processes yield mostly rigid, planar structures, whereas soft-matter alternatives…
With the ever-increasing digitization of society, the development of materials with low-power memory storage -similar to synapses- is becoming more relevant. The field of iontronic artificial synapses has gained traction, in particular with…
In this paper, we present a molecular theory analysis of ions and potential distribution, degree of ionization of polyelectrolyte (PE) brushes, velocity profile, volumetric flow rate, ionic selectivity, ionic conduction and advection by…
Pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) are soft polymeric materials that exhibit complex rheological and mechanical behavior gov- erned by the interplay between polymer architecture, crosslink density, and entanglement constraints. Predicting…
Solid polymer electrolytes for lithium batteries promise improvements in safety and energy density if their conductivity can be increased. Nanostructured block copolymer electrolytes specifically have the potential to provide both good…
The mechanical properties of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) make them suitable candidates for pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs). Using the nematic dumbbell constitutive model, and the block model of PSAs, we study their tack energy and…
Soft electronics are a promising and revolutionary alternative for traditional electronics when safe physical interaction between machines and the human body is required. Among various materials architectures developed for producing soft…
Polyelectrolyte (PE) brushes are widely used in biomaterials and nanotechnology to regulate surface properties and interactions. Here, we apply the electrostatic correlation augmented self-consistent field theory to investigate the…
Soft robotic actuators are safe and adaptable devices with inherent compliance, which makes them attractive for manipulating delicate and complex objects. Researchers have integrated stiff materials into soft actuators to increase their…
Nematic liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) have anomalously high vibration damping, and it has been assumed this is the cause of their anomalously high pressure-sensitive adhesion (PSA). Here we investigate the mechanism behind this enhanced…
Organic Electrochemical Transistors are considered today as a key technology to interact with biological medium through their intrinsic ionic-electronic coupling. In this paper, we show how this coupling can be finely tuned (in operando)…
Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) are promising candidates for replacing proton exchange membranes (PEMs) in electrochemical devices such as fuel cells, electrolyzers, batteries, and osmotic energy extraction systems. However, optimizing the…
Ionic polymer-metal composites consist in a thin film of electro-active polymers (Nafion R for example) sandwiched between two metallic electrodes. They can be used as sensors or actuators. The polymer is saturated with water, which causes…