Light-Triggered Inflation of Microdroplets

Driven systems composed largely of droplets and fuel make up a significant portion of microbiological function. At the micrometer scale, fully synthetic systems that perform an array of tasks within a uniform bulk are much more rare. In this work, we introduce an innovative design for solid-in-oil composite microdroplets. These microdroplets are engineered to nucleate an internal phase, undergo inflation, and eventually burst, all powered by a steady and uniform energy input. We show that by altering the background input, volumetric change and burst time can be tuned. When the inflated droplets release the inner contents, colloidal particles are shown to transiently attract to the release point. Lastly, we show that the system has the ability to perform multiple inflation–burst cycles. We anticipate that our conceptual design of internally powered microdroplets will catalyze further research into autonomous systems capable of intricate communication as well as inspire the development of advanced, responsive materials

Light-Triggered Inflation of Microdroplets

Driven systems composed largely of droplets and fuel make up a significant portion of microbiological function. At the micrometer scale, fully synthetic systems that perform an array of tasks within a uniform bulk are much more rare. In this work, we introduce an innovative design for solid-in-oil composite microdroplets. These microdroplets are engineered to nucleate an internal phase, undergo inflation, and eventually burst, all powered by a steady and uniform energy input. We show that by altering the background input, volumetric change and burst time can be tuned. When the inflated droplets release the inner contents, colloidal particles are shown to transiently attract to the release point. Lastly, we show that the system has the ability to perform multiple inflation–burst cycles. We anticipate that our conceptual design of internally powered microdroplets will catalyze further research into autonomous systems capable of intricate communication as well as inspire the development of advanced, responsive materials

Reconfiguring Nanocomposite Liquid Crystal Polymer Films with Visible Light

Patterns of white light are projected on liquid crystal (LC) polymer films containing gold nanospheres (NS) or nanorods (NR) to induce out-of-plane buckling through a photothermal effect. Straightforward synthetic techniques are used to provide well-dispersed nanocomposite films, with NRs exhibiting self-alignment with the LC director. Using a combination of prepatterned director orientation and spatiotemporal variations in light intensity, these nanocomposite films can be reversibly configured into different 3D states. Fine control over shape is demonstrated through variations in size, shape, and intensity of the illuminated region. Switching time scales are found to be of order a few seconds or below, likely reflecting the intrinsic relaxation time of the LC materials