Flexing Muscles: Hybrid Materials with Actuatable, Hierarchical Topography for Multifunctional Surface Design
Scientific Achievement
Dynamically changing non-equilibrium surface morphologies in stimuli-responsive gels through topographical confinement
Inversion of the surface topography of the pNIPAAm gel upon heating
Significance and Impact
Harnessing the emergence of unique transient morphologies could have potential in the design of multifunctional, actuatable materials for switchable adhesion, antifouling, cell manipulation, and liquid and particle transport surface.
Research Details
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By attaching pNIPAAm gel to a bumpy substrate, we show the inversion of the surface curvature with temperature, and the emergence of unique transient morphologies as a function of the heating path.
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Finite element simulations of polymer concentration and hydrostatic pressure within the gel fully capture and predict the surface transitions.
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These surface topography changes enable us to control the assembly of colloidal particles and microalgae into unique evolving patterns
Zhang, C.T; Liu, Y.; Wang, X.; Wang, X.; Kolle, S.; Balazs, A.; Aizenberg, J.
Soft Matter, 2020, 16, 1463 - 1472.
Work Performed at Harvard University