ACS Applied Polymer Materials最新文献

{"title":"Surface Patterns for Optical Modulation","authors":"Shuqing Liu,&nbsp;Jiaming Zhang,&nbsp;Xuesong Jiang","doi":"10.1021/acsapm.6c02323","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.6c02323","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Surface patterns with micro- andnanoscale features haveemergedas a transformative paradigm in optics due to their ability to extendbeyond the functional limits of conventional optical elements throughstrong light–matter interactions. By engineering geometricparameters across multiple length scales, these architectures enableprecise control over light-field amplitude, phase, polarization, andspectral content via mechanisms including diffraction, photonic bandgaps,plasmonic resonances, and phase discontinuities. These unique capabilitieshave recently driven their evolution from static optical componentsto dynamically tunable systems capable of reversible, continuous,and rapid in situ modulation. In particular, surface patterns haveled to breakthroughs in active optical devices, such as tunable gratings,switchable structural color displays, and reconfigurable metasurfaces.They have also advanced cutting-edge applications in anticounterfeitingand encryption, antireflection, light diffusion, and sensing, featuringmultistimuli responsiveness and multimodal optical encoding. Withgrowing demand for adaptive optics, smart windows, and intelligentphotonic systems, dynamically tunable surface patterns are poisedto drive innovation in next-generation optoelectronics. In this review,we systematically summarize the fundamental physical mechanisms governinglight manipulation by surface patterns and their fabrication methodologies.Particular attention is given to polymer-based responsive systems,while static architectures are covered as the essential physical foundation.We then highlight recent advances in dynamic modulation driven byoptical, electrical, thermal, mechanical, and multiphysical stimuliand survey the latest progress across representative applications.Finally, we discuss current challenges and future directions aimedat advancing optical modulation technologies by leveraging the considerablepotential of dynamically tunable patterned surfaces to provide compact,high-performance, and multifunctional solutions for a wide range ofapplications.</p>","PeriodicalId":7,"journal":{"name":"ACS Applied Polymer Materials","volume":"8 20","pages":"18033–18073"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149282072","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Flexible Sensor Based on Double-Network Structure Hydrogel with High Conductivity and Versatility Can Be Used for Flexible Electronic Devices","authors":"Lingling Meng,&nbsp;Ze Wu,&nbsp;Peng Ni,&nbsp;Weihang Xu,&nbsp;Miao Xu","doi":"10.1021/acsapm.6c02459","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.6c02459","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Tomeet the growing demand for flexible wearable sensors, thispaper constructs a highly conductive composite hydrogel with a dual-networkstructure using poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), polyacrylamide (PAM), borax,polypyrrole (PPy), and ferric chloride (FeCl₃) as raw materials.Through the construction of an interpenetrating dual-network and variousdynamic interactions, the mechanical and sensing properties are significantlyoptimized. The resulting hydrogel exhibits excellent tensile strength(0.12 MPa) and elongation at break (620%), along with a high conductivityof up to 6.56 S/m and a gauge factor (GF) reaching 13.65 withina wide strain range (0–400%). Beyond sensing, the hydrogelalso functions as a solid-state supercapacitor (specific capacitanceof 62.25 F/g) and a triboelectric nanogenerator (open-circuit voltageof 63.65 V, short-circuit current of 10.08 μA),demonstrating multifunctional applicability. The aforementioned performancemetrics demonstrate excellent capabilities, proving that a singlehydrogel formulation through a rational multicross-linked networkdesign can meet the performance requirements of various flexible electronicdevices, thereby offering a material design strategy for the miniaturizationand integration of wearable devices.</p>","PeriodicalId":7,"journal":{"name":"ACS Applied Polymer Materials","volume":"8 20","pages":"18194–18206"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149282033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Biomolecules under Pressure: Protein Phase Transitions from Folding to Misfolding, Aggregation, and Condensation","authors":"Jerson L. Silva,&nbsp;Guilherme C. de Andrade,&nbsp;Mayra A. Marques,&nbsp;Guilherme A. P. de Oliveira","doi":"10.1021/acsapm.6c01589","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.6c01589","url":null,"abstract":"<p>High hydrostatic pressure provides a unique and sensitiveperturbationto protein structure, enabling direct measurement of volume changesassociated with folding, misfolding, and assembly. Because pressureperturbs noncovalent forces while preserving covalent integrity, itreveals conformational intermediates that often remain hidden fromthermal or chemical denaturation. Over the past decade, advances inhigh-pressure NMR, fluorescence spectroscopy, time-resolved crystallography,and single-molecule spectroscopy have transformed pressure into ahigh-resolution probe of folding landscapes. At the same time, pressurehas become an incisive tool for studying the continuum from proteinfolding to misfolding, including amyloidogenesis, prion conversion,mutant p53 aggregation, and the physical chemistry of biomolecularcondensates. This review summarizes conceptual developments in thelast 20 years, highlighting how pressure reshapes our understandingof protein energy landscapes, cavity hydration, and the coupling betweenfolding, phase separation, and disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":7,"journal":{"name":"ACS Applied Polymer Materials","volume":"8 20","pages":"18012–18032"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149282127","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hierarchical WPU/TiO2 Interfaces Enable Acoustic and Photocatalytic Antibacterial Performance in Recycled Hollow Polyester Felts","authors":"Xinbin Ji,&nbsp;Yulong Xiang,&nbsp;Jing Guo,&nbsp;Fucheng Guan,&nbsp;Zheng Li","doi":"10.1021/acsapm.6c02754","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.6c02754","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Noise pollution and surface contamination impose increasinglystringentrequirements on the structural stability and functional integrationof sound-absorbing materials. Here, recycled hollow polyester fibers(HPETFs) and low-melting-point polyester fibers (LPETFs) were hot-pressedinto porous fiber felts (HPFs). A flexible waterborne polyurethane(WPU) coating was then introduced to immobilize TiO₂ nanoparticles,producing multifunctional HUT fiber felts. WPU formed fiber coatingsand node-bridging structures while preserving hollow fibers and interconnectedpores, thereby enhancing interfacial damping and structural stability.The noise reduction coefficient (NRC) of HPF/WPU-12 increased from0.193 for HPF to 0.258, a 33.7% improvement. HPF/WPU-12 also retainedapproximately 98% shape recovery after 1000 compression cycles. TiO₂ was concentrated at and near the felt surface while retainingits anatase phase. At a thickness of 1.97 cm, HUT-10 achieved an NRCof 0.36. Under ultraviolet irradiation, HUT-10 degraded 64.8% of methyleneblue within 7 h. Its maximum inhibition rates against <em>Escherichia coli</em> and <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> were 93.3% and 94.6%, respectively. The synergyamong multiscale pore dissipation, WPU viscoelastic damping, and TiO₂ photocatalysis integrated sound absorption, self-cleaning,and antibacterial functions. This strategy offers a route to multifunctionalsound-absorbing materials based on recycled polyester.</p>","PeriodicalId":7,"journal":{"name":"ACS Applied Polymer Materials","volume":"8 20","pages":"18247–18257"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149282139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Alkylthieno[2,3-d][1,3]thiazole as a Dual-Mode Design Principle for Single-Beam Unidirectional Spontaneous Surface-Relief Gratings in Push–Pull Azobenzenes","authors":"Yevhenii Prykhodko,&nbsp;Shahla Golghasemi Sorkhabi,&nbsp;Elif Goktepe,&nbsp;Romuald Herbinet,&nbsp;Sonia Zielinska,&nbsp;Ewelina Ortyl,&nbsp;Aleksandra Korbut,&nbsp;Matthieu Loumaigne,&nbsp;Regis Barille,&nbsp;Cyprien Lemouchi","doi":"10.1021/acsapm.6c02633","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.6c02633","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Pseudostilbene (<strong>PS</strong>) azobenzene-functionalizedpolymethacrylate(<strong>PMAzo</strong>) films are known to spontaneously form surface-reliefgratings (SP-SRGs) under single-beam irradiation, driven by reversiblephotoisomerization-induced mass transport. Yet achieving macroscopicsingle-beam unidirectional SP-SRG in covalently bonded systems witha value of maximum absorption wavelength (λ_absmax)above 500 nm remains elusive due to the trade-off between red-shiftedabsorption and chain mobility. Here, the alkylthieno[2,3-<em>d</em>][1,3]thiazole (<strong>TTz</strong>) heterocycle resolves this trade-offthrough a dual-mode design principle: its electron-withdrawing natureextends absorption range from 400 to 650 nm and the value of λ_absmax to 536 nm (film spin-coated from THF), while systematicmodulation of alkyl substituent bulkiness (i.e., methyl, <em>n</em>-butyl, 2-ethylhexyl) on <strong>TTz</strong> simultaneously controlschromophore aggregation and decreases the polymer’s glass transitiontemperature (<em>T</em>_g) from 144 to 75 °C.A family of polymethacrylate azobenzene homo- and copolymers (<strong>PMAzo-TTz</strong>, <strong>P1a-P4c</strong>) was synthesized and characterized,demonstrating that this <em>T</em>_g tuning operatesindependently of the chromophore’s electronic structure, akey feature enabling decoupled material optimization. As a result,the optimized copolymer <strong>P2c</strong> (<em>T</em>_g = 94 °C), spin-coated from DCM, exhibits reduced chromophoreaggregation (λ_abs_max = 505 nm) and achieves,to the best of our knowledge, the first highly ordered unidirectionalsingle-beam SP-SRG in a covalently bonded <strong>PS–PMAzo</strong> system absorbing beyond 500 nm (periodicity 380–400 nm, amplitude∼12 nm, order parameter S = 0.73, corresponding to SP-SRG directionalspread of 22.9°). This work establishes clear structure-propertyrelationships linking chromophore aggregation, <em>T</em>_g behavior, and light-induced mass transport. The dual-modedesign principle of the <strong>TTz</strong> heterocycle provides a generalstrategy for developing next-generation red-shifted optomechanicallyactive polymers for photonic and light-responsive applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":7,"journal":{"name":"ACS Applied Polymer Materials","volume":"8 20","pages":"18207–18221"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149282069","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Alkali Lignin and Lignosulfonate Tune Strength, Extensibility, and Hydration in Multifunctional Deep Eutectic Gel Strain Sensors","authors":"Junlong Hao,&nbsp;Haoying Zhu,&nbsp;Miaomiao Zhang,&nbsp;Chang Gao,&nbsp;Lanxing Du,&nbsp;Baoxue Qu,&nbsp;Jianwei Zheng,&nbsp;Miao Zuo","doi":"10.1021/acsapm.6c02926","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.6c02926","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Integrating strength, large deformation,adhesion, self-repair,antimicrobial activity, and stable ionic sensing within a biomass-containingsoft material remains difficult because these properties depend oncompeting network requirements. Here, alkali lignin (AL) and lignosulfonate(LS) were incorporated into an acrylic acid/choline chloride/betainepolymerizable deep eutectic matrix to regulate these trade-offs. Spectroscopic,diffraction, microscopic, thermal, and electrokinetic measurementsshowed that lignin chemistry altered the local chemical environment,morphology, water uptake, and degradation behavior of the resultingdeep eutectic gels. AL shifted the mechanical response toward reinforcement:tensile strength increased from 0.90 MPa for AL0.5-DG to 5.75 MPafor AL2.5-DG, while strain at break decreased from approximately 960%to 435%. LS retained a deformation-tolerant window, with LS1.5-DGreaching approximately 1010% strain at break and a final swellingratio of approximately 249%. Density functional calculations and aChCl-centered molecular dynamics analysis identified localized lignincontacts with betaine, choline/chloride, acrylic species, and polymer-associatedsites. The gels also adhered to dissimilar substrates, recovered 0.67MPa tensile strength after 8 h of interfacial healing, reduced bacterialsurvival at higher lignin loading, and produced repeatable resistanceresponses over 10–150% strain, 3600 s cycling, and subzerodeformation. The results establish lignin chemistry as a practicalcontrol variable for balancing load bearing, hydration, recovery,and ionic sensing in multifunctional deep eutectic gels.</p>","PeriodicalId":7,"journal":{"name":"ACS Applied Polymer Materials","volume":"8 20","pages":"18404–18416"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149282099","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multifunctional Yeast Cell Wall-Based Polyurethane Coatings for Self-Healing Controlled-Release Fertilizers with Enhanced Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Rhizosphere Microbial Regulation","authors":"Xiangjie Zhao,&nbsp;Boning Su,&nbsp;Bin Gao,&nbsp;Ziyao Li,&nbsp;Zekun Wang,&nbsp;Yuying Yan,&nbsp;Songyuan Wang,&nbsp;Junyin Li,&nbsp;Guiwei Wang,&nbsp;Yuanyuan Yao,&nbsp;Shugang Zhang,&nbsp;Tianlin Shen,&nbsp;Yuechao Yang","doi":"10.1021/acsapm.6c02805","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.6c02805","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Thelow nitrogen use efficiency of conventional fertilizers causessubstantial nutrient loss and environmental pollution. Developinghigh-performance and sustainable coatings for controlled-release fertilizers(CRFs) is crucial for improving nutrient use and reducing environmentalimpacts. In this study, we designed and prepared a biobased polyurethanecoating derived from yeast cell wall (YCW) through liquefaction, polyesterification,and multiple modifications. The optimized coating showed a smootherand denser structure, higher tensile strength (12.5 MPa), and effectiveself-healing performance, with a self-healing efficiency of 83.9%.The optimized CRF extended the nitrogen release period from 7 to 35days at the same coating content. In addition, it effectively repairedmicrocracks that may occur during handling, transportation, or soilapplication. In pot experiments with <em>Brassica rapa</em>, the optimized CRF increased nitrogen use efficiency by up to 16.6%and enhanced plant growth. Rhizosphere microbial analysis furthershowed that CRF treatments maintained higher bacterial diversity thanconventional urea and selectively shaped microbial community composition,with several keystone amplicon sequence variants positively associatedwith nitrogen use efficiency. This work presents a renewable and self-healingcoating strategy that combines material design with CRF performance,offering a promising pathway toward more efficient and environmentallysustainable agricultural practices.</p>","PeriodicalId":7,"journal":{"name":"ACS Applied Polymer Materials","volume":"8 20","pages":"18311–18323"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149282104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Inverse Pickering Emulsion Polymerization of Water-Soluble Monomers: Toward Hydrophilic Microspheres with Tunable Morphology","authors":"Oana-Iuliana Negru,&nbsp;Andrei Honciuc,&nbsp;Mirela Honciuc","doi":"10.1021/acsapm.6c02505","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.6c02505","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The growing demandfor efficient recovery of metal ions from secondaryaqueous resources requires high-performance hydrophilic adsorbents.Here, Pickering emulsion polymerization technology is extended toinverse water-in-oil (w/o) emulsions, enabling the surfactant-freesynthesis of hydrophilic polymer microspheres directly from water-solublevinyl monomers. Thiol-functionalized silica nanoparticles (NP-SH)were used to stabilize inverse Pickering emulsions containing methacrylicacid (MA), 1-vinylimidazole (VIm), and N,N′-methylenebis(acrylamide)(MBA). Fluorescence microscopy confirmed the formation of stable inverseemulsions, while the precursor droplet size increased systematicallywith increasing MA content, demonstrating that particle size is establishedduring emulsification and governed by Pickering stabilization. Polymerizationyielded surface-nanostructured hydrophilic microspheres with composition-dependentinternal architectures. Intermediate VIm:MA compositions formed themost compact polymer networks, consistent with enhanced intermolecularMA/VIm interactions, whereas composition extremes produced more porousstructures. Cu²⁺ adsorption was governed primarily by thedensity of imidazole N-donor sites rather than by particle morphology,reaching equilibrium adsorption capacities of approximately 53 mg·g^–1 and theoretical Langmuir capacities of 114 mg·g^–1, comparable with state-of-the-art VIm-based adsorbents.These results establish inverse Pickering emulsion polymerizationas a versatile platform for producing hydrophilic, surface-nanostructuredpolymer microspheres from water-soluble monomers and substantiallybroaden the scope of Pickering emulsion polymerization for metal-ionrecovery and water-remediation applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":7,"journal":{"name":"ACS Applied Polymer Materials","volume":"8 20","pages":"18169–18180"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149282170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Machine Learning Prediction and Model Interpretation of Nitroxide–Radical Recombination Kinetics for Nitroxide-Mediated Polymerization","authors":"Ignatii Efimov,&nbsp;Dagmar R. D’hooge,&nbsp;Paul H. M. Van Steenberge,&nbsp;Mariya Edeleva","doi":"10.1021/acsapm.6c03305","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.6c03305","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Nitroxide-mediatedpolymerization (NMP) is a versatilecontrolledradical polymerization technique compatible with industrial processingconditions. The level of control in NMP depends strongly on the structureof the nitroxide mediator, whose design remains largely empiricaldue to the limited understanding of structure–reactivity relationships.A key kinetic parameter governing this process is the nitroxide–radicalrecombination rate coefficient, <em>k</em>_<em>c</em>. To address this, we developed an interpretable machine-learningmodel to predict log₁₀<em>k</em>_<em>c</em> from molecular descriptors of the three reaction components:the nitroxide, the carbon-centered radical, and the solvent. The modelwas trained on a dataset of 305 experimental recombination rate coefficients.Molecular representation was optimized within a nested cross-validationworkflow. The best performance was achieved with an XGBoost modelthat combined RDKit and ECFP descriptors, yielding <em>R</em>² = 0.83 and RMSE = 0.29 for log₁₀<em>k</em>_<em>c</em>. SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations)analysis was used to interpret the model and showed that it capturesthe main factors controlling recombination kinetics. The model alsoreproduces expected trends: bulkier, more lipophilic nitroxides andstabilized aromatic radicals recombine more slowly. Component-levelattribution showed that the radical contributes 51% of the predictivesignal, followed by the nitroxide (34%) and the solvent (15%).</p>","PeriodicalId":7,"journal":{"name":"ACS Applied Polymer Materials","volume":"8 20","pages":"18729–18739"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149282175","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Buckling as a Tool for Spatiotemporal Sensing in Micromechanical Fluidic Systems","authors":"Abhishek Srivastava,&nbsp;Claas-Hendrik Stamp,&nbsp;Efstathios Mitropoulos,&nbsp;Mahdi Roshani,&nbsp;Andreas Greiner,&nbsp;Lars Pastewka,&nbsp;Viacheslav Slesarenko,&nbsp;Thomas Pfohl","doi":"10.1021/acsapm.6c02520","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.6c02520","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Stimulus-responsive deformations in soft materials arecentralto emerging strategies in microscale sensing and actuation, yet translatingsuch behaviors into confined fluidic environments remains a challenge.Here, we introduce a microfluidic platform integrating upright polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS) membranes, which buckle predictably in response to binary isopropanol–watermixtures. Static experiments reveal that the critical buckling concentrationincreases with membrane thickness, while the buckling wavelength remainsinvariant. Finite element simulations incorporating nonlinear swellingaccurately capture both the onset and amplitude of buckling. Underdynamic conditions, we observe traveling buckling waves driven bypropagating solvent fronts – a phenomenon governed by the coupledkinetics of swelling, diffusion, advection, and elastic instability.These soliton-like deformations serve as self-reporting signaturesof local composition gradients. Our findings establish a paradigmfor solvent detection based on geometry-controlled elastic instabilities,offering a robust platform for passive, label-free chemical sensing,programmable fluidic responses, and the design of soft robotic andlogic-enabled microsystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":7,"journal":{"name":"ACS Applied Polymer Materials","volume":"8 20","pages":"18181–18193"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149282086","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}