Architected Poly(ionic liquid) Composites with Spatially Programmable Mechanical Properties and Mixed Conductivity.

Structural electrolytes present advantages over liquid varieties, which are critical to myriad applications. In particular, structural electrolytes based on polymerized ionic liquids or poly(ionic liquids) (pILs) provide wide electrochemical windows, high thermal stability, nonvolatility, and modular chemistry. However, current methods of fabricating structural electrolytes from pILs and their composites present limitations.

Spatially-Encoding Hydrogels With DNA to Control Cell Signaling.

Patterning biomolecules in synthetic hydrogels offers routes to visualize and learn how spatially-encoded cues modulate cell behavior (e.g., proliferation, differentiation, migration, and apoptosis).

Shape memory in self-adapting colloidal crystals.

Reconfigurable, mechanically responsive crystalline materials are central components in many sensing, soft robotic, and energy conversion and storage devices. Crystalline materials can readily deform under various stimuli and the extent of recoverable deformation is highly dependent upon bond type. Indeed, for structures held together via simple electrostatic interactions, minimal deformations are tolerated.

Electrochemical Polymer Pen Lithography.

The development of a massively parallel lithographic technique called electrochemical polymer pen lithography is reported. Pyramidal pen arrays, consisting of more than 10 000 hydrogel pens loaded with metal salts, are integrated into a three-electrode cell and used to locally reduce ions at each pen tip. This system enables high-throughput patterning of a variety of metallic inks (e.

Heat-induced conversion of gingerols to shogaols in ginger as affected by heat type (dry or moist heat), sample type (fresh or dried), temperature and time.

The impact of heat type, sample type, temperature and time on the heat-induced conversion of gingerols to shogaols in ginger were studied by an UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Heat treatments greatly induced the conversion of gingerols to shogaols in ginger. As the temperature increased, the faster conversion of gingerols into shogaols were observed.

Lattice Mismatch in Crystalline Nanoparticle Thin Films.

For atomic thin films, lattice mismatch during heteroepitaxy leads to an accumulation of strain energy, generally causing the films to irreversibly deform and generate defects. In contrast, more elastically malleable building blocks should be better able to accommodate this mismatch and the resulting strain. Herein, that hypothesis is tested by utilizing DNA-modified nanoparticles as "soft," programmable atom equivalents to grow a heteroepitaxial colloidal thin film.