Soft materials nanoarchitectonics: liquid crystals, polymers, gels, biomaterials, and others

The concept of nanoarchitecture, as a post-nanotechnology methodology, can be defined as the construction of functional materials from nanometer-sized units using a variety of materials processes. It is believed to be particularly well suited to the assembly of soft materials that exhibit flexible a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Katsuhiko Ariga
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Beilstein-Institut 2025-07-01
Series:Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.16.77
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849717732378935296
author Katsuhiko Ariga
author_facet Katsuhiko Ariga
author_sort Katsuhiko Ariga
collection DOAJ
description The concept of nanoarchitecture, as a post-nanotechnology methodology, can be defined as the construction of functional materials from nanometer-sized units using a variety of materials processes. It is believed to be particularly well suited to the assembly of soft materials that exhibit flexible and diverse structures and properties. To demonstrate its effectiveness, this review takes typical soft materials, including liquid crystals, polymers, gels, and biological materials, as examples. The aims are to extract the properties that emerge from them and to highlight the challenges that lie ahead. The examples also illustrate the potential applications, including organic semiconductor devices, electrochemical catalysts, thin-film sensors, solar energy generation, plastic crystal electrolytes, microactuators, smart light-responsive materials, self-repairing materials, enzyme cascade sensors, healing materials for diabetic bone defects, and bactericidal materials. As can be seen from these examples, soft materials nanoarchitectonics offers a wide range of material designs, specific functions, and potential applications. In addition, this review examines the current state and future of soft materials nanoarchitectonics. As an overall conclusion, it is highly anticipated that soft materials nanoarchitectonics will continue to develop significantly in the future.
format Article
id doaj-art-63be02446f5d4f9fa5c0848d6766ffec
institution DOAJ
issn 2190-4286
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Beilstein-Institut
record_format Article
series Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology
spelling doaj-art-63be02446f5d4f9fa5c0848d6766ffec2025-08-20T03:12:35ZengBeilstein-InstitutBeilstein Journal of Nanotechnology2190-42862025-07-011611025106710.3762/bjnano.16.772190-4286-16-77Soft materials nanoarchitectonics: liquid crystals, polymers, gels, biomaterials, and othersKatsuhiko Ariga0Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan The concept of nanoarchitecture, as a post-nanotechnology methodology, can be defined as the construction of functional materials from nanometer-sized units using a variety of materials processes. It is believed to be particularly well suited to the assembly of soft materials that exhibit flexible and diverse structures and properties. To demonstrate its effectiveness, this review takes typical soft materials, including liquid crystals, polymers, gels, and biological materials, as examples. The aims are to extract the properties that emerge from them and to highlight the challenges that lie ahead. The examples also illustrate the potential applications, including organic semiconductor devices, electrochemical catalysts, thin-film sensors, solar energy generation, plastic crystal electrolytes, microactuators, smart light-responsive materials, self-repairing materials, enzyme cascade sensors, healing materials for diabetic bone defects, and bactericidal materials. As can be seen from these examples, soft materials nanoarchitectonics offers a wide range of material designs, specific functions, and potential applications. In addition, this review examines the current state and future of soft materials nanoarchitectonics. As an overall conclusion, it is highly anticipated that soft materials nanoarchitectonics will continue to develop significantly in the future.https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.16.77biomaterialsgelliquid crystalnanoarchitectonicspolymersoft materials
spellingShingle Katsuhiko Ariga
Soft materials nanoarchitectonics: liquid crystals, polymers, gels, biomaterials, and others
Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology
biomaterials
gel
liquid crystal
nanoarchitectonics
polymer
soft materials
title Soft materials nanoarchitectonics: liquid crystals, polymers, gels, biomaterials, and others
title_full Soft materials nanoarchitectonics: liquid crystals, polymers, gels, biomaterials, and others
title_fullStr Soft materials nanoarchitectonics: liquid crystals, polymers, gels, biomaterials, and others
title_full_unstemmed Soft materials nanoarchitectonics: liquid crystals, polymers, gels, biomaterials, and others
title_short Soft materials nanoarchitectonics: liquid crystals, polymers, gels, biomaterials, and others
title_sort soft materials nanoarchitectonics liquid crystals polymers gels biomaterials and others
topic biomaterials
gel
liquid crystal
nanoarchitectonics
polymer
soft materials
url https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.16.77
work_keys_str_mv AT katsuhikoariga softmaterialsnanoarchitectonicsliquidcrystalspolymersgelsbiomaterialsandothers