Research on the impact of Casimir forces on metamaterials awarded VR grant
Professor Giovanni Volpe has been awarded 4.3 million SEK in funding from the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet, VR) for a project exploring how critical Casimir forces can control flexible particles. In the long term, this technology could contribute to the development of programmable metamaterials.
Nanotechnology is in the process of revolutionizing the way we live and conduct research. Applications that were once considered pure science fiction are now becoming reality.
"To further improve the nanomaterials and microscopic components of the future, we need to be able to control the forces that act between particles on the nanoscale," says Giovanni Volpe, professor of physics at the University of Gothenburg.
Critical Casimir forces
Giovanni Volpe, who leads the research group Soft Matter Lab, has now been awarded 4.3 million SEK in project funding from the Swedish Research Council to conduct research on one of the most promising forces in nanotechnology – critical Casimir forces.
Critical Casimir forces arise in liquids near a critical temperature point where two substances are about to separate. For example, water and lutidine (an oil-like substance) mix homogeneously at temperatures below 34 °C, but separate completely above this temperature. Just before separation occurs, large concentration fluctuations appear in the liquid, giving rise to these forces.
Critical Casimir forces are particularly interesting because they can be precisely controlled through temperature and can be either attractive (pulling particles together) or repulsive (keeping particles apart).
"In this project, we will use critical Casimir forces to control shape changes in small flexible particles. By regulating the temperature near the critical point, we can make these particles bend, unfold, or change shape in a controlled manner. This resembles how biological proteins can change their shape," says Giovanni Volpe.
The way forward for metamaterials
"We will then use these particles to build larger mechanical structures, so-called metamaterials, whose properties can be programmed through simple temperature adjustments. This opens up future applications in microrobotics, intelligent sensors, and adaptive materials.gs universitet.
