Sustainable manufacturing of sensors onto soft systems using self-coagulating conductive Pickering emulsions.

Compliant sensors based on composite materials are necessary components for geometrically complex systems such as wearable devices or soft robots. Composite materials consisting of polymer matrices and conductive fillers have facilitated the manufacture of compliant sensors due to their potential to be scaled in printing processes. Printing composite materials generally entails the use of solvents, such as toluene or cyclohexane, to dissolve the polymer resin and thin down the material to a printable viscosity.

Precise nanofiltration in a fouling-resistant self-assembled membrane with water-continuous transport pathways.

Self-assembled materials are attractive for next-generation membranes. However, the need to align self-assembled nanostructures (e.g.

Photoresponsive and Magnetoresponsive Graphene Oxide Microcapsules Fabricated by Droplet Microfluidics.

Fluid compartmentalization by microencapsulation is important in scenarios where protection or controlled release of encapsulated species, or isolation of chemical transformations is the central concern. Realizing responsive encapsulation systems by incorporating functional nanomaterials is of particular interest. We report here on the development of graphene oxide microcapsules enabled by a single-step microfluidic process.

Flat Drops, Elastic Sheets, and Microcapsules by Interfacial Assembly of a Bacterial Biofilm Protein, BslA.

Protein adsorption and assembly at interfaces provide a potentially versatile route to create useful constructs for fluid compartmentalization. In this context, we consider the interfacial assembly of a bacterial biofilm protein, BslA, at air-water and oil-water interfaces. Densely packed, high modulus monolayers form at air-water interfaces, leading to the formation of flattened sessile water drops.

Controlling orientational order in block copolymers using low-intensity magnetic fields.

The interaction of fields with condensed matter during phase transitions produces a rich variety of physical phenomena. Self-assembly of liquid crystalline block copolymers (LC BCPs) in the presence of a magnetic field, for example, can result in highly oriented microstructures due to the LC BCP's anisotropic magnetic susceptibility. We show that such oriented mesophases can be produced using low-intensity fields (<0.

Highly stiff yet elastic microcapsules incorporating cellulose nanofibrils.

Microcapsules with high mechanical stability and elasticity are desirable in a variety of contexts. We report a single-step method to fabricate such microcapsules by microfluidic interfacial complexation between high stiffness cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) and an oil-soluble cationic random copolymer. Single-capsule compression measurements reveal an elastic modulus of 53 MPa for the CNF-based capsule shell with complete recovery of deformation from strains as large as 19%.

Highly Selective Vertically Aligned Nanopores in Sustainably Derived Polymer Membranes by Molecular Templating.

We describe a combination of molecular templating and directed self-assembly to realize highly selective vertically aligned nanopores in polymer membranes using sustainably derived materials. The approach exploits a structure-directing molecule to template the assembly of plant-derived fatty acids into highly ordered columnar mesophases. Directed self-assembly using physical confinement and magnetic fields provides vertical alignment of the columnar nanostructures in large area (several cm) thin films.

Soft microcapsules with highly plastic shells formed by interfacial polyelectrolyte-nanoparticle complexation.

Composite microcapsules have been aggressively pursued as designed chemical entities for biomedical and other applications. Common preparations rely on multi-step, time consuming processes. Here, we present a single-step approach to fabricate such microcapsules with shells composed of nanoparticle-polyelectrolyte and protein-polyelectrolyte complexes, and demonstrate control of the mechanical and release properties of these constructs.

Single-step microfluidic fabrication of soft monodisperse polyelectrolyte microcapsules by interfacial complexation.

Common methods for fabrication of polyelectrolyte microcapsules rely on a multi-step process. We propose a single-step approach to generate polyelectrolyte microcapsules with 1-2 μm shells based on polyelectrolyte complexation across a water/oil droplet interface and study the effect of parameters controlling the polyelectrolyte complexation on shell thickness.