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Soft Crystals: Flexible Response Systems with High Structural Order |
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| Authors: | Prof. Masako Kato Prof. Hajime Ito Prof. Miki Hasegawa Prof. Kazuyuki Ishii |
| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810 Hokkaido, Japan;2. Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-8628 Hokkaido, Japan;3. Department of Chemistry and Biological Science, Aoyama Gakuin University, Sagamihara, 252-5258 Kanagawa, Japan;4. Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, Komaba, 153-8505 Tokyo, Japan |
| Abstract: | A new material concept of soft crystals is proposed. Soft crystals respond to gentle stimuli such as vapor exposure and rubbing but maintain their structural order and exhibit remarkable visual changes in their shape, color, and luminescence. Various interesting examples of soft crystals are introduced in the article. By exploring the interesting formation and phase-transition phenomena of soft crystals through interdisciplinary collaboration, new materials having both the characteristics of ordered hard crystals and those of flexible soft matter are expected. |
| Keywords: | crystal structures phase transition photofunction soft crystals stimulus response |