Assemblies of one-dimensional filaments appear in a wide range of physical systems: from biopolymer bundles, columnar liquid crystals, and superconductor vortex arrays; to familiar macroscopic materials, like ropes, cables, and textiles. Interactions between the constituent filaments in such systems are most sensitive to the
Filamentous bundles are ubiquitous in Nature, achieving highly adaptive functions and structural integrity from assembly of diverse mesoscale supramolecular elements. Engineering routes to synthetic, topologically integrated analogs demands precisely coordinated control of multiple filaments’ shapes and positions, a major challenge when performed without complex machinery or labor-intensive processing. Here, we demonstrate a photocreasing design that encodes local curvature and twist into mesoscale polymer filaments, enabling their programmed transformation into target 3-dimensional geometries. Importantly, patterned photocreasing of filament arrays drives autonomous spinning to form linked filament bundles that are highly entangled and structurally robust. In individual filaments, photocreases unlock paths to arbitrary, 3-dimensional curves in space. Collectively, photocrease-mediated bundling establishes a transformative paradigm enabling smart, self-assembled mesostructures that mimic performance-differentiating structures in Nature (e.g., tendon and muscle fiber) and the macro-engineered world (e.g., rope).
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 2028885
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10395337
- Publisher / Repository:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Nature Communications
- Volume:
- 14
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2041-1723
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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