Building Reconfigurable Devices Using Complex Liquid–Fluid Interfaces

Abstract

Liquid–fluid interfaces provide a platform both for structuring liquids into complex shapes and assembling dimensionally confined, functional nanomaterials. Historically, attention in this area has focused on simple emulsions and foams, in which surface-active materials such as surfactants or colloids stabilize structures against coalescence and alter the mechanical properties of the interface. In recent decades, however, a growing body of work has begun to demonstrate the full potential of the assembly of nanomaterials at liquid–fluid interfaces to generate functionally advanced, biomimetic systems. Here, a broad overview is given, from fundamentals to applications, of the use of liquid–fluid interfaces to generate complex, all-liquid devices with a myriad of potential applications.