New liquid crystal microactuators with programmable shape changes and adaptive optics
The Liquid Crystals and Polymers Group (CLiP) at the Aragon Nanoscience and Materials Institute (INMA), a joint CSIC–University of Zaragoza institute, in collaboration with the University of Florence (Italy), has developed a new strategy for the fabrication of liquid crystal microactuators capable of reversible shape changes. In addition, the work demonstrates a novel optical functionality: these microparticles can operate as adaptive microlenses with tunable focusing and magnification capabilities.
The study has been published in the prestigious journal Advanced Functional Materials, one of the leading journals in materials science. This advance significantly expands the design of active colloidal systems based on liquid crystals and opens new opportunities in areas such as adaptive optics and (micro)soft robotics.
The work was carried out by Marco Turriani from the University of Florence (Italy) during a predoctoral research stay in the CLiP group at INMA, further strengthening the solid collaboration between the two research groups.
Shape-changing multiphase microparticles from complex liquid crystal emulsions
Marco Turriani, Camilla Parmeggiani, Daniele Martella, Alberto Concellón
Adv. Funct. Mater. 2026, e32069
https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adfm.202532069
Abstract: Complex multiphase emulsions containing liquid crystals (LCs) offer precise morphological control and dynamic tunability, enabling applications in optics, sensing, and soft matter. Here, we report a simple and scalable bulk-emulsification strategy that circumvents the reliance on microfluidic fabrication to produce liquid crystalline network (LCN) microparticles spanning single, double (Janus), and triple emulsion morphologies within a genuinely colloidal size regime (10–20 µm). By adjusting crosslinking density and interfacial conditions, we program the LC alignment within the droplets, thereby dictating the mode and direction of actuation after photopolymerization. Single emulsions, Janus particles—coupling an active LCN hemisphere to a passive PDMS compartment—and, for the first time, triple LC emulsions—incorporating a third immiscible phase (a fluorinated oil)—are obtained via this straightforward and scalable approach. Across all morphologies, the particles exhibit robust, reversible, large-amplitude deformations under heating, as well as chemoresponsivity through anisotropic swelling in organic solvents. In addition, the Janus particles exhibit gravitational self-orientation, while the triple LC emulsions retain their multiphase architecture and display tunable geometries. As a proof of concept, these responsive behaviors are exploited to realize adaptive microlenses with thermally tunable focal plane and magnification, establishing complex LC emulsions as a scalable platform for multifunctional microactuators.
