We reviewed structural phase transitions in crystalline materials, especially recent simulations and experiments on the shock-induced transitions in iron. They both confirmed a phase transition wave in the picosecond to nanosecond time scale, inferred previously from wave profile analyses. The nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulation suggests modification of pair potentials from temperature...

The design and development of many separation and catalytic process technologies require a proper quantitative description of diffusion of mixtures of guest molecules within porous crystalline materials. This tutorial review presents a unified, phenomenological description of diffusion inside meso- and micro-porous structures. In meso-porous materials, with pore sizes 2 nm < d(p) < 50 nm, there...

Liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) exhibit a number of remarkable physical effects, including the unique, high-stroke reversible mechanical actuation when triggered by external stimuli. This article reviews some recent exciting developments in the field of LCE materials with an emphasis on their utilization in actuator applications. Such applications include artificial muscles, industrial man...

The recent development of materials for organic field effect transistors (OFETs), including small-molecule and polymer materials, are briefly reviewed, and the problems that remain to be solved prior to practical application and use are discussed. Liquid crystalline materials are good candidates for OFETs because of their advantageous properties over soluble small-molecule materials. Liquid cry...