Mechano‐Nanoarchitectonics: Design and Function

Abstract

Mechanical stimuli have rather ambiguous and less‐specific features among various physical stimuli, but most materials exhibit a certain level of responses upon mechanical inputs. Unexplored sciences remain in mechanical responding systems as one of the frontiers of materials science. Nanoarchitectonics approaches for mechanically responding materials are discussed as mechano‐nanoarchitectonics in this review article. Recent approaches on molecular and materials systems with mechanical response capabilities are first exemplified with two viewpoints: i) mechanical control of supramolecular assemblies and materials and ii) mechanical control and evaluation of atom/molecular level structures. In the following sections, special attentions on interfacial environments for mechano‐nanoarchitectonics are emphasized. The section entitled iii) Mechanical Control of Molecular System at Dynamic Interface describes coupling of macroscopic mechanical forces and molecular‐level phenomena. Delicate mechanical forces can be applied to functional molecules embedded at the air–water interface where operation of molecular machines and tuning of molecular receptors upon macroscopic mechanical actions are discussed. Finally, the important role of the interfacial media are further extended to the control of living cells as described in the section entitled iv) Mechanical Control of Biosystems. Pioneering approaches on cell fate regulations at liquid–liquid interfaces are discussed in addition to well‐known mechanobiology.

Materials nanoarchitectonics in a two-dimensional world within a nanoscale distance from the liquid phase

“…The energy or force exerted for monolayer compression on a liquid is much smaller than that exerted by light irradiation and the other external stimuli. 100 Rather, it is only used to change the soft conformation of the molecule. Therefore, on the liquid surface, we can expect to develop functions through delicate conformational changes of the molecules.…”

Molecular Machines and Microrobots: Nanoarchitectonics Developments and On-Water Performances

“…Another important role of the interface has recently been proposed as a field that connects macroscopic phenomena with molecular and nano phenomena. In other words, it is at the interface that we can manipulate molecules with hand-motion-like macroscopic mechanical actions, e.g., driving molecular machines and tuning molecular receptor structures with hand movements [ 167 , 168 ]. At a two-dimensional interface, lateral changes in magnitude can be triggered with visible size.…”

Multicoating Nanoarchitectonics for Facile Preparation of Multi-Responsive Paper Actuators

“…In this work, we reported the design and fabrication of multi-responsive actuators that enable complex deformation by architecting of functional multilayer materials via a simple pencil painting on common papers. Inspired from the concept of nanoarchitectonics, − herein we called the process multicoating nanoarchitectonics for facile fabrication of multi-responsive paper actuators. By drawing a thin layer of graphite directionally on a paper and coating a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer subsequently, multi-responsive paper actuators can be easily fabricated.…”