Mechanoresponsive Hydrogel Particles as a Platform for Three-Dimensional Force Sensing.

We introduce a novel concept for mechanosensitive hydrogel microparticles, which translate deformation into changes in fluorescence and can thus function as mechanical probes. The hydrogel particles with controlled polymer network are produced via droplet microfluidics from poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) precursors. Förster resonance energy transfer donors and acceptors are coupled to the PEG hydrogel network for reporting local deformations as fluorescence shifts.

Monitoring the Contact Stress Distribution of Gecko-Inspired Adhesives Using Mechano-Sensitive Surface Coatings.

The contact geometry of microstructured adhesive surfaces is of high relevance for adhesion enhancement. Theoretical considerations indicate that the stress distribution in the contact zone is crucial for the detachment mechanism, but direct experimental evidence is missing so far. In this work, we propose a method that allows, for the first time, the detection of local stresses at the contact area of biomimetic adhesive microstructures during contact formation, compression and detachment.

Controlled Exfoliation of Layered Silicate Heterostructures into Bilayers and Their Conversion into Giant Janus Platelets.

Ordered heterostructures of layered materials where interlayers with different reactivities strictly alternate in stacks offer predetermined slippage planes that provide a precise route for the preparation of bilayer materials. We use this route for the synthesis of a novel type of reinforced layered silicate bilayer that is 15 % stiffer than the corresponding monolayer. Furthermore, we will demonstrate that triggering cleavage of bilayers by osmotic swelling gives access to a generic toolbox for an asymmetrical modification of the two vis-à-vis standing basal planes of monolayers.

Influence of the molecular structure and morphology of self-assembled 1,3,5-benzenetrisamide nanofibers on their mechanical properties.

The influence of molecular structure on the mechanical properties of self-assembled 1,3,5-benzenetrisamide nanofibers is investigated. Three compounds with different amide connectivity and different alkyl substituents are compared. All the trisamides form well-defined fibers and exhibit significant differences in diameters of up to one order of magnitude.