Mapping Mechanical Damage in Materials: Collaborative Research Visit and Seminar by Prof. Jessica M. Clough

We were delighted to host Prof. Jessica M. Clough from the Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI) in Switzerland for a research seminar entitled “The Molecular Choreography of Polymers under Mechanical Stress.” In her talk, Prof. Clough introduced advanced mechanophore-based approaches for visualising and quantifying mechanical stress and strain in solid-state polymeric materials at the molecular level.

She highlighted the use of fluorescent supramolecular mechanophores to map heterogeneous deformation around defects and stress concentrators, revealing how local strains deviate from the macroscopic load. Prof. Clough also presented the development of a new mechanophores that undergoes a force-induced chemical transformation, enabling the direct visualisation of permanent material damage. Finally, she discussed emerging directions toward next-generation mechanophores for nanoscale force imaging, aiming to bridge macroscopic mechanics with the behaviour of individual polymer chains under stress.

Prof. Clough is a valued collaborator of our research group, and her visit provided an excellent opportunity for in-depth scientific exchange. Our teams have recently been granted funding through the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) scientific exchange program, which will involve a research stay of our postdoctoral researcher, Dr Ceylan Doyranli, at AMI to explore the use of polymers and mechanophores in hybrid perovskite materials and devices. We greatly appreciated the opportunity to host her and look forward to establishing new research collaborations, building on our shared interests in mechanochemistry and its application to advanced materials.