Nov 1, 2019 | No Comments | By Michelle Pagano
In a recent Nature News & Views article, HEMI Fellow Sung Hoon Kang (professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering) and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Seung-yeol Jeon discuss the effect of electrochemical reactions on architected materials.
As explained in the article, “architected materials are a new class of material in which desirable properties are achieved through careful arrangement of substructural elements such as beams and plates.” The particular architected material that Kang and Jeon focus on has the special ability to reconfigure and modulate in response to electricity. Discovered and publicized in a Nature paper, Xia et al. the material begins as a silicone-coated lattice that can then transform shape according to electric discharge, and even reverse by recharging.
Kang and Jeon go on to explain the numerous applications such a material could have, especially in situations and products that would require material malleability in order to perform various functions in areas of limited space. It could also prove useful in medical devices as a material that can detect physiological changes without requiring external power.
