It has been known for quite some time that materials and structures with small-scale dimensions do not behave in the same manner as their bulk counterparts. This aspect was first observed in thin films where certain defect structures were found to have deleterious effects on the film’s structural integrity and reliability. This became a significant concern because thin films are routinely emplo...

The stability and elasto-mechanical properties of tetragonal and cagelike or clathrate nanowires of Si are investigated and compared using molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show that cagelike nanowires, while possessing lesser density, are able to maintain their structural integrity over a larger range of strain conditions than the tetrahedral nanowires, making them a better candidate...

1 Department of Physics and “Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces” Interdepartmental Centre, Università di Torino, Torino, Italy, 2 Laboratory of Bio-Inspired and Graphene Nanomechanics, Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, Università di Trento, Trento, Italy, 3 Center for Materials and Microsystems, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento, Italy, 4 School of Engineering an...

Here, a pH-induced nanomechanical switching of i-motif structures incorporated into DNA origami bound onto cysteamine-modified basal plane HOPG was electronically addressed, demonstrating for the first time the electrochemical read-out of the nanomechanics of DNA origami. This paves the way for construction of electrode-integrated bioelectronic nanodevices exploiting DNA origami patterns on con...

Dr. Horacio Espinosa is a mechanical engineering professor at Northwestern University. He has been engaged in teaching and research at Northwestern University since 2000, and he has become an authority on the subjects of nanomechanics and the dynamic failure of nanomaterials. Besides teaching and research, he currently serves as editor for the Journal of Experimental Mechanics and the Journal o...