Soft Matter最新文献

{"title":"Pesticide droplet interfacial behavior and drying deposition characteristics on apple leaf surfaces at different growth stages: role of nonionic surfactant self-assembly.","authors":"Xianhao Kong, Yueyan Gou, Pengjiu Zhang, Zhongfang Liu, Jing Yang, Renjun Fan, Falin He, Yue Gao, Lifei He","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00743k","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d6sm00743k","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The physicochemical properties of pesticide solutions can be effectively altered <i>via</i> surfactant addition, which significantly influences the wetting, bouncing behavior and deposition efficiency of pesticide droplets. We combined high-speed imaging, contact angle measurements, and infrared thermography to track droplet impact, spreading, and drying on apple leaves at three growth stages-flower bud, young fruit, and fruit enlargement. Deep-focus microscopy observations revealed that leaf surfaces at different growth and developmental stages possess trichomes of varying densities, which exert a non-negligible influence on droplet bouncing, wetting, and drying deposition behaviors. Cryo-TEM showed that AEO-4, AEO-5, and AEO-7 assembled into spherical micelles, while AEO-6 formed vesicles in pesticide solutions. The small micellar structures facilitated droplet penetration into trichome structures on leaf surfaces, whereas the vesicle elasticity reduced droplet bouncing. AEO-6 enhances Marangoni convection within the droplet, accelerates the drying rate, and promotes uniform deposition, whereas the micelles formed by AEO-4 and AEO-5 are susceptible to capillary flow within the droplet and the micelles formed by AEO-7 are more susceptible to gravitational effects, leading to non-uniform deposition upon drying and a \"coffee ring\" pattern. Through a comprehensive analysis of factors such as the self-assembly morphology of surfactants, the heterogeneity characteristics of leaf surfaces at different growth stages, and the Marangoni flow patterns within droplets, the wetting behavior on adaxial <i>versus</i> abaxial leaf surfaces varied markedly with trichome density. Notably, AEO-6 vesicles demonstrate superior performance, <i>via</i> an energy storage-release mechanism, reducing the coffee-ring effect and bouncing behavior, and enabling more uniform pesticide deposition. This offers a theoretical foundation for customizing surfactant selection based on leaf growth stage and surface location.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149101380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The effect of controlled pre-twisting on the tensile properties of compact carbon nanotube fibers.","authors":"Vincenzo Andrea Muratore, Claudio Boni, Gianni Royer-Carfagni","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00524a","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6sm00524a","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Tensile experiments on individual solution-spun carbon NanoTube (CNT) fibers after controlled pre-twisting reveal a significant trade-off: a marked enhancement in ductility alongside a reduction in stiffness and strength. Although the baseline fiber exhibits a densely-packed macroscopic appearance, scanning electron microscopy indicates that twisting separates the fiber into detached mesoscale fibrils with a helical architecture. A mechanical model is proposed based on two hypotheses. (1) Since detached fibrils begin with identical lengths, twisting them generates a helical path mismatch. When the fiber is pulled, this mismatch forces the fibrils to engage sequentially from the outer edge to the core, driving a non-linear drop in overall stiffness. We demonstrate this mechanism of sequential engagement using a physical analogue made of nylon filaments. This behavior contrasts sharply with standard twisted yarns, where filaments are arranged along their helical paths without length discrepancies, resulting in simultaneous engagement under tension. (2) The twisted fibrils exhibit ductility exceeding the ultimate strain of the untwisted configuration. Consistent with prior studies, we propose that helical confinement enhances the inter-CNT sliding capacity within the fibrils at the nanoscale. A parametric analysis evaluating various shapes of \"constitutive continuation\" for the fibrils demonstrates that plastic-like responses yield excellent agreement with the experimental data. Since our approach is derived from purely geometric considerations and can be combined with different constitutive laws, it is readily extendable to different fiber configurations and other filamentous materials, providing a physically-grounded framework for designing hierarchical fibers through controlled pre-twist.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":"6475-6489"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148981690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Linking acoustic waves and polymer deformation to reveal energy transmission pathways.","authors":"Andrew L Bowman, Katherine M Evans, Jonathan G Raybin, Michael R Rothberg, Andrew J Gayle, Sebastian Engmann, Marcos A Reyes-Martinez, Travis L Thornell, John K Newman, Edwin P Chan","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00689b","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6sm00689b","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>From fundamental understanding of materials to biology to communication and sensing, acoustic waves represent the primary means for mechanical information and energy to flow through matter. While traditionally used to access the physical properties of materials, exactly how acoustic waves relate to molecular-level perturbations, including nonlinear processes, remains unanswered. Here, we study this question by conducting atomic simulations of a nanostructured elastomeric block copolymer subjected to a nanoscopic perturbation at rates below and above the acoustic properties of the material. We find that the mode of energy propagation and dissipation transitions from a material-deformation-defined response at slow perturbations, to an inertia-dominated response at fast perturbations. Notably, the results reveal that the crossover depends on propagation of the slow extensional wave, as opposed to the propagation of the fast longitudinal wave traditionally believed to dictate energy flow in materials, and emerges from polymer chain-level dynamics. These insights collectively demonstrate a mechanistic relationship between molecular response and wave propagation, opening new ways to design, study, and manipulate materials with implications spanning mechanical computation to hypersonic impact.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":"6525-6533"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149000960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Selective protein separation enabled by asymmetric three-component coacervates.","authors":"Eugenia Apuzzo, Daiana S Bianchi, Guillermo H Docena, Omar Azzaroni, Santiago E Herrera, Maximiliano L Agazzi","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00583g","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6sm00583g","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Selective protein separation <i>via</i> complex coacervation offers a sustainable alternative to conventional purification methods. Here, we investigate asymmetric coacervates formed by a polyelectrolyte and an oppositely charged multivalent ion as a platform for separating proteins from mixed solutions based on their isoelectric point (pI). Model systems include bovine serum albumin (BSA, pI ∼ 5.5) and hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL, pI ∼ 11). Encapsulation proceeds <i>via</i> ternary coacervate formation, where proteins act as effective species competing in the coacervation process. Phase separation and partitioning are governed by composition, pH, and ionic strength. Under physiological conditions, polystyrene sulfonate/tetraethylenepentamine selectively sequesters HEWL into the coacervate, leaving BSA in the supernatant, while poly(allylamine)/sodium tripolyphosphate reverses selectivity. These results demonstrate efficient protein separation from binary mixtures and provide mechanistic insight into asymmetric coacervation as a platform for selective purification and encapsulation.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":"6534-6542"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149000942","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"High-resolution inkjet printing of polymerized chiral liquid crystal droplets on periodically rotating photoalignment layers.","authors":"Živilė Čerškutė, Inge Nys, Miglė Stebrytė, Enes Lievens, Kristiaan Neyts, Jeroen Beeckman","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00594b","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6sm00594b","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This research addresses the challenge of controlling complex director fields in confined chiral liquid crystal (CLC) geometries. CLC droplets were inkjet-printed onto high-resolution photoalignment patterns to study the competition among chiral pitch, geometric confinement, and surface-alignment periodicity. Polarized microscopy analysis and conceptual 3D modeling reveal that surface photoalignment dictates the droplet structure, steering the director field independently of the curved droplet's profile. Findings show that at small periods Λ, surface anchoring suppresses domain curvature in favour of a well-defined 1D director lattice. This transition confirms that photoalignment can either enforce directional orientation or allow curvilinear fields depending on the confinement.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":"6408-6417"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148910130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Parallel evolution of charge transfer and supramolecular chirality in an aggregation-induced donor-acceptor co-assembly.","authors":"Dipen Biswakarma, Animesh Pal, Nilanjan Dey","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00608f","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6sm00608f","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Understanding how electronic communication and chirality emerge cooperatively in supramolecular systems remains a major challenge in molecular materials science. Herein, we report an aqueous donor-acceptor co-assembly comprising a pyrene-L-histidine donor and a nitrobenzofurazan (NBD)-based acceptor that simultaneously generates charge-transfer (CT) interactions and supramolecular chirality. The donor-acceptor pair possesses a favorable frontier orbital alignment that supports intermolecular electron transfer and charge-transfer state formation. Co-assembly produced a broad CT absorption band spanning 380-650 nm together with intense induced circular dichroism signals extending into the CT region, demonstrating efficient transfer of molecular chirality from the histidine-bearing donor to the achiral acceptor. A key finding of this work is the parallel evaluation of CT absorption and supramolecular chirality under concentration-, time-, and temperature-dependent conditions. The nearly identical evolution of both responses established that charge transfer and chirality transfer are aggregation-induced, dynamically coupled phenomena arising from the same donor-acceptor architecture. Stoichiometric studies confirmed a discrete 1 : 1 complex, while FTIR, DLS, FESEM, and TCSPC analyses revealed cooperative hydrogen bonding, π-π stacking, and photoinduced electron transfer as the principal driving forces governing assembly formation.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":"6490-6499"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148987207","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Limits of constant-parameter constitutive models for hydrogels under inertial cavitation.","authors":"Tianyi Chu, Joseph Beckett, Zhiren Zhu, Jonathan B Estrada, Spencer H Bryngelson","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00547k","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6sm00547k","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mechanical characterization of soft materials at high strain rates is challenging due to their high compliance, nonlinear viscoelastic behavior, and potentially history-dependent responses. Inertial microcavitation rheometry (IMR) addresses this challenge by coupling laser-induced cavitation (LIC) experiments with numerical simulations of bubble dynamics models to infer constitutive models and material parameters. Both IMR and its variants infer parameters that depend on the chosen fitting window, which suggests that a constant-parameter constitutive model is insufficient to describe the full cavitation event. We use this window dependence to identify when the constant-parameter assumption fails, rather than to report a single effective parameter set. The constitutive parameters are estimated over moving, overlapping windows using a modified iterative ensemble Kalman smoother with multiple data assimilation (MIEnKS-MDA). Within the neo-Hookean Kelvin-Voigt (NHKV) constitutive model, we obtain time-resolved estimates of the constitutive response in polyacrylamide (PAAm) hydrogels with different crosslinker concentrations. The inferred shear modulus and viscosity generally decrease and then plateau during cavitation, while exhibiting relatively weak temperature sensitivity. For gelatin gels, by contrast, the inferred property evolution shows a pronounced temperature dependence, with distinct trends at low and high temperatures. Moreover, both the apparent shear modulus and viscosity exhibit significant variations during the first two bubble collapses. These results show that time-resolved parameter estimation within the prescribed NHKV constitutive structure can diagnose where the constant-parameter model assumption falls short during cavitation, thereby guiding the development of improved physics-based models of complex bubble-material interactions.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":"6418-6438"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148987273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Manipulating two-dimensional colloidal crystals using Laguerre-Gaussian beams.","authors":"Habib Moradi, Sjors Cornielje, Mathieu G Baltussen, Berend van der Meer, Arran Curran, Roel P A Dullens","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00456c","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6sm00456c","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Optical tweezing has firmly established itself as a versatile tool in fields ranging from biology to physics. In colloidal systems, optical tweezers are used to <i>e.g.</i> measure small forces or to generate optical potential energy landscapes. More complex and dynamic optical tweezing can be readily achieved using holographic wavefront engineering, though this is typically applied to only a handful of particles. Here, we discuss how we use holographically generated Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beams to manipulate hundreds to thousands of particles in a two-dimensional colloidal crystal to form well-defined loop-shaped grain boundaries. We characterise the axial intensity distribution of the LG beam and show the effect of applying LG beams at different distances from the focal point to the colloidal crystals. In addition, we demonstrate how LG beams with different vortex numbers can be used to generate grain boundary loops with different radii, and finally we briefly compare and contrast manipulating 2D colloidal crystals with a single defocussed LG beam <i>versus</i> using a focussed LG beam combined with a defocussed Gaussian beam.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":"6380-6390"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13613969/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149035666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Designing binary colloidal gel microstructure through sequential gelation.","authors":"Alexander Kaltashov, Safa Jamali","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00671j","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6sm00671j","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Although multi-component colloidal gels have been the subject of considerable interest in recent years, the exploitation of temporal control in colloidal gel formation has remained an underexplored niche. Yet, the implementation of sequential gelation mechanisms presents compelling opportunities for the design of multi-component gels with tunable structural and mechanical properties. In this study, we model the sequential gelation of a binary colloidal system whose inter- and intraspecies attractions can be modified through independent mechanisms. By tuning various system parameters such as colloidal volume fraction, colloidal species proportions, gelation delay and interparticle attractions, we evaluate the effects of these parameters on the resulting gel structures. Our findings lay the groundwork for new design strategies of tunable multicomponent gels.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":"6500-6511"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148987295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mechanical characterization of constrained soft materials <i>via</i> nonlinear vibrations.","authors":"Haocheng Yang, Kyobeom Ku, Karthik Yerrapragada, Sinan Candan, Christian Franck, Melih Eriten","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00627b","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6sm00627b","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Soft materials such as gels and elastomers have widespread applications in robotics, biomedical engineering, and the food industry. Traditional mechanical characterization methods such as uniaxial tension/compression and rheometry cannot work in-<i>operando</i> or track the internal stress build-up and geometric changes of the materials due to environmental stimuli. Vibration-based methods with non-contact sensing techniques can achieve high-throughput measuring to monitor the evolution of mechanical properties and internal stresses of soft materials. However, vibration characteristics depend not only on mechanical properties and internal stresses, but also on the geometry of the samples and boundary conditions. This work demonstrates the use of nonlinear vibrations to simultaneously identify the geometry, mechanical properties, and internal stresses of constrained soft structures. This novel mechanical characterization method utilizes nonlinear transient vibrations and the corresponding amplitude-dependent frequency (backbone) curves. The method is demonstrated on clamped PDMS and gelatin disks. Linear and nonlinear vibration tests (frequency sweeps and nonlinear resonance decay) <i>via</i> laser vibrometry are performed on the disks and vibration characteristics are obtained; <i>e.g.</i>, modal frequencies and stiffening coefficients due to nonlinear kinematics. These experimental vibration characteristics, when fitted with an FE model, deliver the thicknesses, Young's moduli, and internal stresses of the disks. For experimental fitting, a global surrogate model-based optimization algorithm is used. The proposed method successfully monitors the dehydration-induced changes in internal stresses as well as thicknesses and constitutive properties of the gelatin disks. The use of nonlinear stiffening responses facilitates the unique mechanical characterization of the disks and eliminates the need for independent monitoring of the full sample geometry. Potential applications of the method will be in the continuous high-throughput monitoring of bioactuators, engineered tissues, and products in the biofabrication and food industry.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":"6512-6524"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148987298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}