Forging out-of-equilibrium supramolecular gels
Journal article, 2024
The design of supramolecular hydrogels comprising aligned domains is important for the fabrication of biomimetic materials and applications in optoelectronics. One way to access such materials is by the self-assembly of small molecules into long fibres, which can be aligned using an external stimulus. Out-of-equilibrium supramolecular gels can also be designed, where pre-programmed changes of state can be induced by the addition of chemical fuels. Here we exploit these dynamic properties to form materials with aligned domains through a ‘forging’ approach: an external force is used to rearrange the underlying network from random to aligned fibres as the system undergoes a pre-programmed gel-to-sol-to-gel transition. We show that we can predictably organize the supramolecular fibres, leading to controllable formation of materials with aligned domains through a high degree of temporal control. (Figure presented.).
Author
Simona Bianco
University of Glasgow
Fin Hallam Stewart
University of Glasgow
Santanu Panja
University of Glasgow
Asra Zyar
University of Glasgow
Emma Bowley
University of Glasgow
Marko Bek
Roland Kádár
Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Engineering Materials
MAX IV Laboratory
Ann Terry
MAX IV Laboratory
Roberto Appio
MAX IV Laboratory
Tomás S. Plivelic
MAX IV Laboratory
Mahon Maguire
University of Liverpool
Harish Poptani
University of Liverpool
Marco Marcello
University of Liverpool
Ravi R. Sonani
University of Virginia
Edward H. Egelman
University of Virginia
Dave J. Adams
University of Glasgow
Nature Synthesis
27310582 (eISSN)
Vol. 3 12 1481-1489 7507Subject Categories
Condensed Matter Physics
DOI
10.1038/s44160-024-00623-4