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1. Spatiotemporal modulation of surface texture for information encoding and object manipulation

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74794-3  

   Yang, Xiao; Sim, Jay; Zhao, Ruike Renee (December 2026, Nature Communications)

   Dynamically tunable surface textures offer a powerful route to spatiotemporally regulate surface and interfacial properties, enabling emerging applica- tions ranging from adaptive optics to soft robotic manipulation. However, achieving programmable, reversible, and spatiotemporal modulation of sur- face texture remains a fundamental challenge. Here, we present a photothermal-actuated liquid crystal elastomer bilayer that enables reversible, on-demand spatiotemporal modulation of surface textures through dynamically emerging and propagating wrinkles. Using direct laser writing or pro- jected light elds, programmable and self-erasable wrinkle patterns are generated for dynamic information encoding. This spatiotemporal wrinkling enables object manipulation across diverse geometries, including uphill transport and navigation along predesigned paths. By coupling wrinkle-driven motion with thermally reversible dynamic bonding, the bilayer further enables assembly and disassembly of dynamic polymers, as well as cargo transporta- tion. This work demonstrates spatiotemporally programmable wrinkling as a powerful mechanism for dynamic modulation of surface textures, establishing a versatile platform for multifunctional and recon gurable smart surfaces. 

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2. Mimicry of a biophysical pathway leads to diverse pollen-like surface patterns

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1919060117  

   Liu, Jiaqi; Radja, Asja; Gao, Yuchong; Yin, Rui; Sweeney, Alison; Yang, Shu (May 2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   A ubiquitous structural feature in biological systems is texture in extracellular matrix that gains functions when hardened, for example, cell walls, insect scales, and diatom tests. Here, we develop patterned liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) particles by recapitulating the biophysical patterning mechanism that forms pollen grain surfaces. In pollen grains, a phase separation of extracellular material into a pattern of condensed and fluid-like phases induces undulations in the underlying elastic cell membrane to form patterns on the cell surface. In this work, LCE particles with variable surface patterns were created through a phase separation of liquid crystal oligomers (LCOs) droplet coupled to homeotropic anchoring at the droplet interface, analogously to the pollen grain wall formation. Specifically, nematically ordered polydisperse LCOs and isotropic organic solvent (dichloromethane) phase-separate at the surface of oil-in-water droplets, while, different LCO chain lengths segregate to different surface curvatures simultaneously. This phase separation, which creates a distortion in the director field, is in competition with homeotropic anchoring induced by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). By tuning the polymer chemistry of the system, we are able to influence this separation process and tune the types of surface patterns in these pollen-like microparticles. Our study reveals that the energetically favorable biological mechanism can be leveraged to offer simple yet versatile approaches to synthesize microparticles for mechanosensing, tissue engineering, drug delivery, energy storage, and displays. 

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3. Computational morphogenesis for liquid crystal elastomer metamaterial

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41524-024-01300-y  

   Li, Weichen; Zhang, Xiaojia Shelly (December 2024, npj Computational Materials)

   Abstract Liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) is a type of soft active material that generates large and reversible spontaneous deformations upon temperature changes, facilitating various environmentally responsive smart applications. Despite their success, most existing LCE metamaterials are designed in a forward fashion based on intuition and feature regular material patterns, which may hinder the reach of LCE’s full potential in producing complex and desired functionalities. Here, we develop a computational inverse design framework for discovering diverse sophisticated temperature-activated and -interactive nonlinear behaviors for LCE metamaterials in a fully controllable fashion. We generate intelligent LCE metamaterials with a wide range of switchable functionalities upon temperature changes. By sensing the environment, these metamaterials can realize maximized spontaneous area expansion/contraction, precisely programmable enclosed opening size change, and temperature-switchable nonlinear stress–strain relations and deformation modes. The optimized unit cells feature irregular LCE patterns and form complex and highly nonlinear mechanisms. The inverse design computational framework, optimized material patterns, and revealed underlying mechanisms fundamentally advance the design capacity of LCE metamaterials, benefiting environment-aware and -adaptive smart materials. 

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4. Direct Ink Writing of Cephalopod Skin‐Like Core‐Shell Fibers From Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Elastomers and Dyed Solutions

   https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202413965  

   Li, Shangsong; Yu, Kun‐Hao; Garcia, Isabel; Nah, So Hee; Chui, Hiu_Ning Tiffany; Tian, Ziting; Yang, Shu (October 2024, Advanced Functional Materials)

   Abstract Direct ink writing (DIW) of core‐shell structures allows for patterning hollow or composite structures for shape morphing and color displays. Cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers (CLCEs) with liquid crystal mesogens assembled in a helix superstructure are attractive for generating tunable iridescent structural colors. Here, by fine‐tuning the rheology of the core and shell materials, respectively, this study creates droplets or a continuous filament in the core from the precursors of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) or poly(vinyl alcohol), whereas CLCE forms the outer shell. By introducing a dye in the droplets, the skin structures of cephalopods, consisting of chromatophores and iridocytes, are mimicked for enhanced color saturation, lightness, and camouflage. After removal of the core material, a CLCE hollow fiber is obtained, which can switch colors upon mechanical stretching and pneumatic actuation, much like papilla along with iridocytes. Further, liquid crystal mesogens assembled in the bulk of the fiber are in polydomain. Thus, the skin appears opalescent at room temperature, much like how leucophores enhance reflectins. Upon heating above the nematic to isotropic transition temperature, the skin becomes transparent. Lastly, a cephalopod model is constructed, where different parts of the model can change colors independently based on different mechanisms. 

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5. Porous liquid crystal elastomers for thermal-driven tunable acoustic properties

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mattod.2026.103394  

   Lee, Jeseung; Sim, Jay; Yang, Xiao; Wu, Shuai; Averitt, Samantha; Zhao, Ruike Renee (September 2026, Materials Today)

   Achieving tunable acoustic properties is crucial for adaptive sound regulation in dynamically changing environments across engineering and biomedical applications. However, conventional porous materials possess fixed pore structures that result in static acoustic responses, while existing active systems often rely on complex, bulky, and multi-component assemblies that limit practical integration. Here, we present a porous liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) as a structurally simple yet highly reconfigurable material platform enabling wide-range acoustic tuning. By exploiting reversible, thermal-driven reconfiguration of its pore structure, the porous LCE achieves full-range modulation of sound absorption, transitioning from near-zero to near-perfect absorption at target frequencies, while enabling frequency-selective tuning through on-demand shifts of absorption peaks. Experiments combined with numerical modeling reveal that this tunability originates from temperature-controlled changes in effective porosity and pore size, which can be systematically programmed during fabrication. Importantly, the acoustic performance is highly reversible and repeatable over multiple heating and cooling cycles, ensuring robust and reliable operation. This work establishes porous LCEs as a promising material platform for active acoustic wave manipulation, with various potential applications, including adaptive noise control, acoustic imaging, and wireless communication. 

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