Liquid-Based Adaptive Structural Materials.

The development of structural materials that are capable of adapting to a variety of environments, is promising for smart buildings and therefore providing better-quality living with energy efficiency. One of the tendencies is to increasingly employ liquid phase materials, owing to their spontaneous and dynamic properties. Bridging the gap between dynamic liquid phase and conventional solid materials, liquid-based adaptive structural materials (LASMs) have been demonstrated to show unprecedented properties of dynamicity, stability, adaptivity, and stimulus-responsiveness, which are desired in many applications such as 3D printing, soft robotics, omniphobic surface, microfluidics, multiphase separation, etc. This research news discusses and summarizes the recent progresses made with LASMs, including liquid with particles, liquid with surfaces, as well as liquid with membranes. Besides, the opportunities and challenges are also showcased for promoting the development of LASMs. The authors hope this research news will attract more researchers' attention to transform the LASMs into more real-world applications.