Conspectus Inverse opals (IOs) are highly interconnected three-dimensional macroporous
structures with applications in a variety of disciplines from optics to catalysis. For instance …

Phase transitions are a common phenomenon in condensed matter and act as a critical
degree of freedom that can be employed to tailor the mechanical or electronic properties of …

Structural colors have a demonstrated value in constructing various functional materials.
Efforts in this area are devoted to develo** stratagem for generating heterogeneous …

The severe difficulty to resolve simultaneously both the macroscopic deformation process
and the dislocation dynamics on the atomic scale limits our understanding of crystal …

Chemical gardens are complex, often macroscopic, structures formed by precipitation
reactions. Their thin walls compartmentalize the system and adjust in size and shape if the …

Under nonequilibrium conditions, inorganic systems can produce a wealth of life-like shapes
and patterns which, compared to well-formed crystalline materials, remain widely …

Colloidal crystals with iridescent structural coloration have appealing applications in the
fields of sensors, displays, anti-counterfeiting, etc. A serious issue accompanying the facile …

Ambidirectionality, which is the ability of structural elements to move beyond a reference
state in two opposite directions, is common in nature. However, conventional soft materials …

Conventional catalyst preparative methods commonly entail the impregnation, precipitation,
and/or immobilization of nanoparticles on their supports. While convenient, such methods do …

Complex crystal structures are composed of multiple local environments, and how this type
of order emerges spontaneously during crystal growth has yet to be fully understood. We …