Morphing structures are often engineered with stresses introduced into a flat sheet by leveraging structural anisotropy or compositional heterogeneity. Here, we identify a simple and universal diffusion-based mechanism to enable a transient morphing effect in structures with parametric surface grooves, which can be realized with a single material and fabricated using low-cost manufacturing methods (e.g., stamping, molding, and casting). We demonstrate from quantitative experiments and multiphysics simulations that parametric surface grooving can induce temporary asynchronous swelling or deswelling and can transform flat objects into designed, three-dimensional shapes. By tuning the grooving pattern, we can achieve both zero (e.g., helices) and nonzero (e.g., saddles) Gaussian curvature geometries. This mechanism allows us to demonstrate approaches that could improve the efficiency of certain food manufacturing processes and facilitate the sustainable packaging of food, for instance, by creating morphing pasta that can be flat-packed to reduce the air space in the packaging.

Development of high refractive index glasses on the basis of commodity polymer thermoplastics presents an important requisite to further advancement of technologies ranging from energy efficient lighting to cost efficient photonics. This contribution presents a novel particle dispersion strategy that enables uniform dispersion of zinc oxide (ZnO) particles in a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix to facilitate hybrid glasses with inorganic content exceeding 25% by weight, optical transparency in excess of 0.8/mm, and a refractive index greater than 1.64 in the visible wavelength range. The method is based on the application of evaporative ligand exchange to synthesize poly(styrene-r-acrylonitrile) (PSAN)-tethered zinc oxide (ZnO) particle fillers. Favorable filler-matrix interactions are shown to enable the synthesis of isomorphous blends with high molecular PMMA that exhibit improved thermomechanical stability compared to that of the pristine PMMA matrix. The concurrent realization of high refractive index and optical transparency in polymer glasses by modification of a thermoplastic commodity polymer could present a viable alternative to expensive specialty polymers in applications where high costs or demands for thermomechanical stability and/or UV resistance prohibit the application of specialty polymer solutions.

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Poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (PSAN)-capped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by a "ligand exchange" method. First, octylamine (OA)-capped ZnO NPs were prepared by reaction of OA and zinc 2-ethylhexanoate (Zn(EH)). Then PSAN polymer ligands were synthesized by activators regenerated by electron transfer (ARGET) atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and were efficiently exchanged with OA ligands on the ZnO particle surface benefiting from the relatively low boiling point of OA (175 °C). The morphology, content of ZnO, and grafting density of the nanocomposite were well controlled by altering the ratio between OA and polymer ligands as well as the molecular weight of PSAN-NH used in the exchange reaction. The resulting ZnO/polymer nanocomposites were stable in THF with narrow size distributions and varying grafting densities from 0.9 to 2.5 nm. With excess amount of polymer ligands, individual dispersed ZnO NPs were observed. However, with a limited amount of ligands, NPs clusters were formed, as confirmed by TEM and DLS.