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   Robust cholesteric liquid crystal elastomer fibres for mechanochromic textilesGeng, Yong  ; Kizhakidathazhath, Rijeesh ; Lagerwall, Jan in Nature Materials (2022), 21(12), 14411447 Mechanically responsive textiles have transformative potential in many areas from fashion to healthcare. Cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers have strong mechanochromic responses that offer attractive ... [more ▼] Mechanically responsive textiles have transformative potential in many areas from fashion to healthcare. Cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers have strong mechanochromic responses that offer attractive opportunities for such applications. Nonetheless, making liquid crystalline elastomer fibres suitable for textiles is challenging since the Plateau–Rayleigh instability tends to break up precursor solutions into droplets. Here, we report a simple approach that balances the viscoelastic properties of the precursor solution to avoid this outcome and achieve long and mechanically robust cholesteric liquid crystal elastomer filaments. These filaments have fast, progressive and reversible mechanochromic responses, from red to blue (wavelength shift of 155 nm), when stretched up to 200%. Moreover, the fibres can be sewed into garments and withstand repeated stretching and regular machine washing. This approach and resulting fibres may be useful for applications in wearable technology and other areas benefiting from autonomous strain sensing or detection of critically strong deformations. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 69 (4 UL) Giant voltage amplification from electrostatically induced incipient ferroelectric states; Iñiguez, Jorge ; in Nature Materials (2022) Detailed reference viewed: 14 (0 UL)Local negative permittivity and topological phase transition in polar skyrmions; ; et al in Nature Materials (2020) Detailed reference viewed: 48 (0 UL)Quantitative imaging of electric surface potentials with single-atom sensitivity; ; et al in Nature Materials (2019), 18 Because materials consist of positive nuclei and negative electrons, electric potentials are omnipresent at the atomic scale. However, due to the long range of the Coulomb interaction, large-scale ... [more ▼] Because materials consist of positive nuclei and negative electrons, electric potentials are omnipresent at the atomic scale. However, due to the long range of the Coulomb interaction, large-scale structures completely outshine small ones. This makes the isolation and quantification of the electric potentials that originate from nanoscale objects such as atoms or molecules very challenging. Here we report a non-contact scanning probe technique that addresses this challenge. It exploits a quantum dot sensor and the joint electrostatic screening by tip and surface, thus enabling quantitative surface potential imaging across all relevant length scales down to single atoms. We apply the technique to the characterization of a nanostructured surface, thereby extracting workfunction changes and dipole moments for important reference systems. This authenticates the method as a versatile tool to study the building blocks of materials and devices down to the atomic scale. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 110 (2 UL)Materials science in LuxembourgKreisel, Jens ; Wirtz, Ludger ; in Nature Materials (2014), 13 With its strategic location and firm commitment to investing in research, Luxembourg has ambitious plans to become a significant player in the international research arena. Detailed reference viewed: 379 (34 UL) |
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