Scientific Achievement
Interfacial control over conjoined liquid compartments allowed for rapid processing techniques, such as liquid 3D printing, to be used to create non-equilibrium geometries for hierarchical liquid systems that evolve in space over time in response to chemical fuel.
Significance and Impact
The demonstrated temporal control over structured liquids using chemically fueled dissipative self-assembly offers exciting possibilities for timed release or timed mixing of chemical reactants.
Research Details
- A chemical fuel transformed soluble polymers to insoluble colloids, which assembled at the liquid–liquid interface
- 2D interfacial rheology informed the timescale by which the amount of fuel controlled the lifetime of structured liquids
- Spectroscopic characterization linked the time-evolved structure of the colloidal assemblies to their permeability for controlled release
