Liquid crystals constitute a fascinating class of soft condensed matter characterized by the
counterintuitive combination of fluidity and long-range order. Today they are best known for …

Electromechanical effects are ubiquitous in biological and materials systems. Understanding
the fundamentals of these coupling phenomena is critical to devising next‐generation …

Electromechanical coupling in electroactive polymers (EAPs) has been widely applied for
actuation and is also being increasingly investigated for sensing chemical and mechanical …

The ability of a material to convert electrical stimuli into mechanical deformation, ie
piezoelectricity, is a remarkable property of a rather small subset of insulating materials. The …

In dielectric materials, due to the flexoelectric effect, a large inhomogeneous deformation
can break or significantly alter the inversion symmetry of the material and induce net …

We report observation of the giant direct flexoelectric effect in α-phase polyvinylidene
fluoride (PVDF) films. This unexpected phenomenon was detected in the α-phase PVDF film …

Magnetic shape-memory materials are responsive materials with a strong influence of shape
changes on the magnetic properties, and vice versa.[1] They offer access to unique …

In 2001, Dozov predicted that twist-bend nematic phase can be spontaneously formed when
K 33< 0 and K 11/K 22> 2, and this phase has recently been discovered in bimesogens. To …

A plethora of living organisms are equipped with smart functionalities that are usually rooted
in their surface micro/nanostructures or underlying muscle tissues. Inspired by nature …

Porous materials are widely used as protecting devices against low-velocity impacts due to
their excellent energy absorption and dissipation capabilities. Thus, monitoring low-velocity …