Stretching the boundaries; new soft matter systems.

想象一下，可以更好地保护免受撞击的材料，因为它们在受到撞击时会弹回，而不是变得更薄。或者光学材料，可以使下一代虚拟和增强现实视觉设备节能和足够快地产生实时全息图。或者新的，无毒的材料，将热能转化为电能，并流动，从而提供热交换介质。这种材料在过去5年中已经存在，这项提案旨在将它们从早期发现阶段，建立对物理学的深入和全面理解，推向新的应用。这个提议是基于我在液晶方面的两个发现：第一个合成拉胀材料（一种液晶弹性体），以及一种相当深奥的液晶状态下的新颖电光响应，即暗聚集相。它还建立在我的探索性工作的电热效应在著名的铁电液晶定位我检查新发现的极性向列相的潜力。1.液晶弹性体。想象一种材料，当你拉伸它时，它会变厚而不是变薄！这种材料被称为拉胀材料，存在于肌腱、珍珠层、细胞核甚至猫皮中。预测声学材料具有极其期望的特性，包括：高冲击吸收性;抗撕裂性;高剪切模量;并且是声学超材料。大多数现有的合成拉胀材料涉及典型尺寸> 10微米的多孔几何形状，限制了可能的装置尺寸并引入了固有的弱点（容易撕裂海绵）。我最近发现了第一种合成分子拉胀材料，为汽车、航空航天、电子和医疗保健行业的应用开发材料提供了范式转变。我的目标是深入了解支撑这一现象的物理学，并与学术界和工业界合作。光学各向同性电光模式。几十年来，液晶一直是可切换光学器件（和光学开关）的潜在解决方案，但对于下一代设备来说效率低下且速度太慢。暗聚集（DC）相显示出显著的电光响应，即折射率的大变化，其既快速又与偏振无关，这可以完全改变可切换透镜和光栅的设计方式。我计划以我在直流相上的工作为基础，了解表现出该相的材料和混合物，将其从科学好奇心带到新电光器件的潜力得到充分理解的地方。3. Polar Crockets for energy.这条链结合了最近在约克的发现和我对液晶作为电热材料的探索性研究。电热材料将热量转化为电力（反之亦然），并且具有这样做的流体材料为设备设计提供了一种新方法。不幸的是，流体材料往往具有数量级太小而无效的电极化。据报道，在splay晶体管阶段的极化比其他铁电液晶大三个数量级-这是一个真实的游戏规则改变者！我将借此机会详细探讨这一新的可再生能源阶段，以确定其在能源应用中的潜力。我的计划是及时的，令人兴奋的和雄心勃勃的，旨在将基本的理解带到一个阶段，工程师或工业合作伙伴可以开始开发具有最大潜力的想法。

Imagine materials that allow better protection against impact because they push back when hit, rather than getting thinner. Or optical materials that could make the next generation virtual and augmented reality vision devices energy efficient and fast enough to produce real-time holograms. Or new, non-toxic materials for that convert heat energy to electricity, and flow so provide the heat-exchanging medium. Such materials have come into existence in the last 5 years, and this proposal is designed to take them from early stage discovery, building a deep and comprehensive understanding of the physics, towards new applications. The proposal is founded on two of my discoveries in liquid crystals; the first synthetic auxetic material (a liquid crystal elastomer), and a novel electro-optic response in a rather esoteric liquid crystal state, the dark conglomerate phase. It also builds on my exploratory work of the electrocaloric effect in well-known ferroelectric LCs positioning me to examine the potential of newly discovered polar nematics. 1. Auxetic LC elastomers. Imagine a material that gets thicker when you stretch it rather than thinner! Such materials are known as auxetic and exist in nature in tendons, nacre, the cell nucleus and even cat skin. Auxetic materials are predicted to have extremely desirable properties including: high shock absorbance; tear resistance; high shear moduli; and to be acoustic meta-materials. Most existing synthetic auxetic materials involve porous geometries with typical dimensions of >10micrometres, limiting the possible device dimensions and introducing inherent weakness (it is easy to tear a sponge). I recently discovered the first synthetic molecular auxetic material offering a paradigm shift in developing materials for applications spaning automotive, aerospace, electronics and healthcare industries. My aim is to develop a deep understanding of the physics underpinning the phenomenon and engage academic and industrial collaborators.2. Optically isotropic electro-optic modes. Liquid crystals have been a potential solution for switchable optics (and optical switches) for decades, but are inefficient and too slow for next generation devices. The dark conglomerate (DC) phase shows a remarkable electro-optic response, a large change in refractive index which is both fast and polarization-independent that could completely change the way in which switchable lenses and gratings could be designed. I plan to build on my work on the DC phase, understanding materials and mixtures that exhibit the phase, to take it from a scientific curiosity to one where the potential for new electro-optic devices is fully understood. 3. Polar nematic LCs for energy. This strand combines a recent discovery at York with my exploratory research into liquid crystals as electrocaloric materials. Electrocaloric materials convert heat into electricity (and vice versa) and having a fluid material that does this offers a new approach to device design. Unfortunately, fluid materials tend to have an electrical polarization that is orders of magnitude too small to be effective. The polarization in the splay nematic phase is reported to be three orders of magnitude bigger than other ferroelectric LCs - a real game changer! I will take the opportunity to explore this new nematic phase in great detail, with the aim of determining its potential in energy applications.My programme is timely, exciting and ambitious, designed to take fundamental understanding to a stage where engineers or industrial partners can begin to develop the ideas with the greatest potential.