Beyond a traditional stimuli-responsive soft actuator that shows a single motion by a stimulus, multidirectional actuation reversal with a single stimulus is highly required in applications such as shape morphing sensors and soft robotics. Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are one of the most attractive candidates for the soft actuator due to their capability of stimuli-responsive shape changing in 3D, which is programmable with local orientation of LC mesogens. Here, a simple but effective method to fabricate monolithic LCE actuators that are capable of reversible curvature reversal in bending and twisting deformation by a single stimulus-heat-is reported. The curvature reversal of the LCE film can be programmed by means of asymmetric crosslinking density along the thickness and the orientation of the LC mesogens. The curvature reversal of the monolithic LCE film exhibits highly reversible (more than 100 times) and fast actuation (≈3-5 s) by heating and cooling, allowing new concept of a practical application using LCE material: a self-regulated smart valve that is capable of qualitatively sorting liquids by temperature. It is believed that this system is potentially applied to a self-regulated sorting platform for various endothermic and exothermic chemical or biological reactions.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/marc.202100404 | DOI Listing |
Front Mol Biosci
January 2025
Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States.
This study investigates the dynamics of oleate hydratase (OhyA), a bacterial flavoenzyme from , and its interactions with lipid membranes, focusing on the factors influencing membrane binding and oligomerization. OhyA catalyzes the hydration of unsaturated fatty acids, playing a key role in bacterial pathogenesis by neutralizing host antimicrobial fatty acids. OhyA binds the membrane bilayer to access membrane-embedded substrates for catalysis, and structural studies have revealed that OhyA forms oligomers on membrane surfaces, stabilized by both protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSmall Methods
January 2025
Research Institute of Frontier Science, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, P. R. China.
Commercial 3D zinc foam anodes with high deposition space and ion permeation have shown great potential in aqueous ion batteries. However, the local accumulated stress from its high-curvature surface exacerbates the Zn dendrite issue, leading to poor reversibility. Herein, we have employed zincophilic N-doped carbon@Sn composites (N-C@Sn) as nano-fillings to effectively release the local stress of high curvature surface of 3D Zn foams toward dendrite-free anode in aqueous zinc ion battery (AZIB).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicromachines (Basel)
November 2024
Guangzhou Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Innovation Center, Guangzhou Institute of Technology, Xidian University, Guangzhou 510555, China.
In this work, we demonstrated the epitaxial growth of a gallium nitride (GaN) buffer structure on 200 mm SOI (silicon-on-insulator) substrates. This epitaxial layer is grown using a reversed stepped superlattice buffer (RSSL), which is composed of two superlattice (SL) layers with different Al component ratios stacked in reverse order. The upper layer, with a higher Al component ratio, introduces tensile stress instead of accumulative compressive stress and reduces the in situ curvature of the wafer, thereby achieving a well-controlled wafer bow ≤ ±50 µm for a 3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Urol
January 2025
Urology Department HOGIP UCAD, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal.
Background: The inelasticity of dartos tissue and the regulation of collagen expression are significant factors in the pathophysiology of chordee associated with hypospadias. While the COL2A1:COL1A1 ratio is recognised as a measure of cell differentiation, there is yet to be a study specifically examining this ratio in hypospadias. The aim of this study was to determine the COL2A1:COL1A1 ratio.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Mater Interfaces
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, MOE Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices, College of Aerospace Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China.
Pristine transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) monolayers are generally regarded as exhibiting low chemical reactivity due to their inert surfaces. Our extensive first-principles calculations, which incorporate an explicit solvation model, reveal that the catalytic performance of pristine TMD MX (where M = Mo or W, and X = S, Se or Te) monolayers for hydrogen evolution reaction can be significantly altered and enhanced through mechanically bending deformation. For a WTe monolayer, its hydrogen adsorption Gibbs free energy decreases to 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!