Design and Control of Responsive Soft Materials

by Monica Olvera de la Cruz (Northwestern University (Boston))

Tuesday 25 Nov 2025, 16:00 → 18:00 Europe/Rome

Aula Conversi (Dipartimento di Fisica - Ed. G.Marconi)

Ions and charged molecules are the basic components of biological cell media and key elements of emerging biomimetic systems. Both biological and artificial biomimetic systems rely on broken symmetries to transmit signals and initiate actuation. We have shown that electrostatic interactions spontaneously break symmetries in membranes containing oppositely charged molecules at the nanoscale. However, at the nanoscale, it is difficult to overcome viscous forces to achieve locomotion and fluid flow. Here, we describe mechanisms of self-propulsion and self-generated electrolyte flows by leveraging electrostatics and hydrodynamics, whose coupling becomes increasingly strong at the nanoscale.  We demonstrate self-sustained motion driven by surface charge distributions and ionic fluxes in catalytic elastic membranes and in capillaries mimicking ion transport in neurons. Our models capture non-local responses in complex electrolytes that can be used to describe biological functions and design biomimetic devices, including materials with brain-like functions.