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Self-Assembly and Non-equilibrium Behaviors in Soft Matter Systems
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Self-Assembly and Non-equilibrium Behaviors in Soft Matter Systems

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Soft Matter".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2023) | Viewed by 4645

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Zihao Ou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University Stanford ChEM-H, 290 Jane Stanford Way, RM S385, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Interests: nanoscience; neuroscience; light-matter interactions; colloids; self-assembly; liquid-phase TEM

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soft matter systems have been utilized to investigate poorly understood self-assembly and non-equilibrium behaviors owing to their tunable compositions, geometries, and interactions. Micrometer-sized colloidal particles have successfully been used as model systems to realize engineered self-assembled structures and illustrate the kinetics behind non-equilibrium behaviors, such as glass formation and phase transitions. The development of in situ techniques including atomic force microscopy, electron microscopy, and X-ray scattering has also enabled the extension of the investigation protocol toward the nanoscale, which introduces a broad library of non-spheric building blocks. Apart from colloidal systems, novel polymer design and protein engineering have further enriched the range of self-assembly and non-equilibrium behaviors observed in soft materials systems, such as liquid–liquid phase separation. Meanwhile, advanced computer simulation techniques including lattice-Boltzmann and multi-particle colloidsion dynamics have been developed to facilitate the understanding of complex behaviors in soft matter systems.

Focusing on the rapid and diverse development in such an interdisciplinary field, the purpose of this Special Issue is to bring together high-quality readings to researchers interested in the field of self-assembly and non-equilibrium behaviors in soft materials.

The main topics to be covered include self-assembly, non-equilibrium behaviors, colloidal synthesis, nanoparticle assembly, active materials, and also developments of simulation and experimental techniques for investigating soft material behaviors including molecular dynamics, in situ optical/fluorescence microscopy, light scattering, AFM, in situ TEM, SAXS, etc.

I am pleased to invite you to submit a manuscript (original research article, communication, or review) for this Special Issue of Materials MDPI on “Self-Assembly and Non-Equilibrium Behaviors in Soft Matter Systems”.

Dr. Zihao Ou
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • self-assembly
  • non-equilibrium behaviors
  • colloidal synthesis
  • nanoparticle assembly
  • active materials
  • colloidal dynamic simulation
  • liquid-phase AFM
  • in situ TEM
  • SAXS

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 2622 KiB  
Article
Ionic Chiral Ferrocene Doped Cholesteric Liquid Crystal with Electronically Tunable Reflective Bandwidth performance
by Wan-Li He, Ya-Qian Zhang, Wen-Tuo Hu, Hui-Min Zhou, Zhou Yang, Hui Cao and Dong Wang
Materials 2022, 15(24), 8749; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15248749 - 8 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1296
Abstract
Cholesteric liquid crystals (CLC) were widely used in optical devices as one-dimensional photonic crystals. However, their reflective bands cannot be adjusted, which limits their wide application in many fields. In this paper, a series of ionic chiral ferrocene derivatives (CD-Fc+) as [...] Read more.
Cholesteric liquid crystals (CLC) were widely used in optical devices as one-dimensional photonic crystals. However, their reflective bands cannot be adjusted, which limits their wide application in many fields. In this paper, a series of ionic chiral ferrocene derivatives (CD-Fc+) as dopants were designed and prepared, and their doping into negative liquid crystal matrix was investigated to develop cholesteric response liquid crystal composites with electrically tunable reflective bands. The effects of electric field frequency, voltage, retention time of voltage and molecular structure on the broadening of reflection bandwidth were investigated in detail. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Self-Assembly and Non-equilibrium Behaviors in Soft Matter Systems)
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Review

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18 pages, 2781 KiB  
Review
Direct Imaging of the Kinetic Crystallization Pathway: Simulation and Liquid-Phase Transmission Electron Microscopy Observations
by Zhangying Xu and Zihao Ou
Materials 2023, 16(5), 2026; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16052026 - 1 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2979
Abstract
The crystallization of materials from a suspension determines the structure and function of the final product, and numerous pieces of evidence have pointed out that the classical crystallization pathway may not capture the whole picture of the crystallization pathways. However, visualizing the initial [...] Read more.
The crystallization of materials from a suspension determines the structure and function of the final product, and numerous pieces of evidence have pointed out that the classical crystallization pathway may not capture the whole picture of the crystallization pathways. However, visualizing the initial nucleation and further growth of a crystal at the nanoscale has been challenging due to the difficulties of imaging individual atoms or nanoparticles during the crystallization process in solution. Recent progress in nanoscale microscopy had tackled this problem by monitoring the dynamic structural evolution of crystallization in a liquid environment. In this review, we summarized several crystallization pathways captured by the liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy technique and compared the observations with computer simulation. Apart from the classical nucleation pathway, we highlight three nonclassical pathways that are both observed in experiments and computer simulations: formation of an amorphous cluster below the critical nucleus size, nucleation of the crystalline phase from an amorphous intermediate, and transition between multiple crystalline structures before achieving the final product. Among these pathways, we also highlight the similarities and differences between the experimental results of the crystallization of single nanocrystals from atoms and the assembly of a colloidal superlattice from a large number of colloidal nanoparticles. By comparing the experimental results with computer simulations, we point out the importance of theory and simulation in developing a mechanistic approach to facilitate the understanding of the crystallization pathway in experimental systems. We also discuss the challenges and future perspectives for investigating the crystallization pathways at the nanoscale with the development of in situ nanoscale imaging techniques and potential applications to the understanding of biomineralization and protein self-assembly. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Self-Assembly and Non-equilibrium Behaviors in Soft Matter Systems)
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