Backed by a $7.4 million European Research Council Synergy Grant, materials scientists from Drexel University, CNRS, and TU Dresden have launched a pioneering initiative to engineer programmable solid-liquid hybrid materials capable of changing shape, stiffness, and electrical conductivity on demand. By confining mobile ions and liquid molecules inside ultra-strong, conductive two-dimensional solids (such as MXenes), researchers aim to control physical properties at the atomic level via “ionotronic” modulation. Potential breakthroughs include self-tuning water filters, adaptive robotic skins, shape-morphing aircraft surfaces, and structural energy storage for electric vehicles.
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