Publications related to Design of Self-Healing Supramolecular Rubbers with a Tunable Number of Chemical Cross-Links

Influence of model uncertainty and long term deformations in action effects calculation in reinforced concrete structures

Most codes of practice adopt a semi probabilistic design approach for the dimensioning and assessment of structures. Accordingly, structural safety is ensured by performing limit state verifications using design values determined with adequately calibrated ...

EPFL2024

Insights from an extensive triaxial testing campaign on a shale for comparative site characterization of a deep geological repository

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Eleonora Crisci

Several boreholes were drilled for site comparison of a deep geological repository (DGR) in Northern Switzerland. The main target of the exploration program was the >100m thick Opalinus Clay, the designated host rock encountered at approximately 450 to 100 ...

Elsevier2024

Valence can control the nonexponential viscoelastic relaxation of multivalent reversible gels

Hugo Camille Valentin Le Roy

Gels made of telechelic polymers connected by reversible cross-linkers are a versatile design platform for biocompatible viscoelastic materials. Their linear response to a step strain displays a fast, near-exponential relaxation when using low-valence cros ...

Amer Assoc Advancement Science2024

Modeling friction and wear using an adaptive discrete-continuum coupling

Manon Eugénie Voisin--Leprince

When two objects slide against each other, wear and friction occur at their interface. The accumulation of wear forms what is commonly referred to as a ``third-body''. Understanding third-body evolution has significant applications in industry, where contr ...

EPFL2024

Localized Ionic Reinforcement of Double Network Granular Hydrogels

Esther Amstad, Alexandra Thoma

Nature produces soft materials with fascinating combinations of mechanical properties. For example, the mussel byssus embodies a combination of stiffness and toughness, a feature that is unmatched by synthetic hydrogels. Key to enabling these excellent mec ...

Wiley-V C H Verlag Gmbh2024

Customized modular multi-material mouthguard and method of making the same

Dominique Pioletti, Martin Broome, Naser Nasrollahzadeh Mamaghani

There is described a mouthguard comprising an externally exposed impact protective region defined by a first material property and configured to cover a front tooth, an internally exposed occlusional cushioning region defined by a second material property ...

2024

Soft Mechanochemistry of Disulfide-Crosslinked Polymer Networks

Zhao Meng

Mechanochemistry harnesses mechanical force to facilitate chemical reactions. Traditionally, the field of polymer mechanochemistry has used methods to activate chemical bonds, which use forces that are larger than those that are required to break a covalen ...

EPFL2024

Computational Homogenization for Inverse Design of Surface-based Inflatables

Mark Pauly, Francis Julian Panetta, Uday Kusupati, Yingying Ren, Florin Isvoranu, Seiichi Eduardo Suzuki Erazo

Surface-based inflatables are composed of two thin layers of nearly inextensible sheet material joined together along carefully selected fusing curves. During inflation, pressure forces separate the two sheets to maximize the enclosed volume. The fusing c ...

2024

Morphological and Material Programability of a Hall-Effect Based Soft Tactile Sensors

Josephine Anna Eleanor Hughes, Sudong Lee

The different receptors in human skin show not only diversity in the stimuli to which they respond, but also variable sensitivity and directionality. This is often determined by their location or morphology, and can play an important role in filtering or a ...

IEEE2024

Chalcogen bonding catalysis

Jieping Zhu

Catalysts play a major role in chemical synthesis, and catalysis is considered to be a green and economic process. Catalysis is dominated by covalent interactions between the catalyst and substrate. The design of non-covalent catalysts came into limelight ...

Royal Society of Chemistry2024

Enabling simultaneous reprocessability and fire protection via incorporation of phosphine oxide monomer in epoxy vitrimer

Véronique Michaud, Valentin Rougier

The conception of epoxy thermosets with both reprocessability and flame retardancy delineates a new horizon in polymer science, offering a material solution that is not only superior in fire safety but is also environment friendly. Herein, a flame-retardan ...

Journal Mater Sci Technol2024

Palladium‐Based Dyotropic Rearrangement Enables A Triple Functionalization of Gem‐Disubstituted Alkenes: An Unusual Fluorolactonization Reaction

Qian Wang, Jieping Zhu, Qiang Feng, Chenxu Liu

We report in this paper a Pd(II)-catalyzed migratory gem-fluorolactonization of ene-carboxylic acids. Reaction of 4-methylenealkanoic acid derivatives with Selectfluor in the presence of Pd(OAc)2 (1.0 mol %) at room temperature affords fluorolactones in go ...

Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH2024

Design of Customized Mouthguards with Superior Protection Using Digital-Based Technologies and Impact Tests

Dominique Pioletti, Martin Broome, Naser Nasrollahzadeh Mamaghani

Background In contact sports, an impact on the jaw can generate destructive stress on the tooth-bone system. Mouthguards can be beneficial in reducing the injury risk by changing the dynamics of the trauma. The material properties of mouthguards and their ...

Springer2024

Biobased Composites from Eugenol- and Coumarin-Derived Methacrylic Latex and Hemp Nanocellulose: Cross-Linking via [2+2] Photocycloaddition and Barrier Properties

Yves Leterrier, Sara Dalle Vacche

A novel-biobased latex was synthesized by redox-initiated emulsion copolymerization of ethoxy dihydroeugenyl methacrylate with 5 wt % of a photosensitive methacrylate containing a coumarin group. A stable copolymer latex having 16 wt % solids content and a ...

Amer Chemical Soc2024

A diversity-driven discovery of potential nanoporous materials for energy-related applications

Sauradeep Majumdar

The design and discovery of potential novel materials is critical for the advancement of climate change mitigation technologies. In this respect, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have received considerable attention over the last two decades. The combinatio ...

EPFL2024

Investigation of mycelium film as the adhesive for poplar veneer bonding: insight into interfacial bonding mechanisms

Wenjing Sun

The emergence of mycelium-bonded biocomposites has been stimulated in the quest for sustainable development. These biocomposites exhibit enhanced mechanical properties through hot pressing, with mycelium playing a crucial role as both the adhesive and rein ...

Taylor & Francis Ltd2024

Controlling the Microstructure and Composition of 3D Printed Soft Load-Bearing Hydrogels

Matteo Hirsch

Hydrogels are among the first materials expressly designed for their use in biomedicine. However, state-of-the-art applications of hydrogels are severely limited because they are typically either too soft or too brittle such that they cannot bear significa ...

EPFL2023

Supramolecular Modifications of Semicrystalline Polymers

Michael Alan Giffin

Supramolecular interactions play an important role in defining the structure and the resulting mechanical properties of materials. For instance, interchain hydrogen-bonding in PAs gives them superior strength and stiffness in engineering materials, while t ...

EPFL2023

Bottlebrush Dielectric Elastomers with Improved Properties for Actuation

Yeerlan Adeli

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA) are elastic capacitors composed of a pair of compliant electrodes and a soft dielectric elastomer film sandwiched in between. This kind of stretchable capacitors can be actuated when charged, can generate electricity fr ...

EPFL2023

Atomic-scale Characterization of Strain and Gate effects on Two-dimensional Materials by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy

Jz -Yuan Juo

Strain is an inevitable phenomenon in two-dimensional (2D) material, regardless of whether the film is suspended or supported. Moreover, strain is known to alter the physical and chemical properties, such as the band gap, charge carrier effective masses, d ...

EPFL2023