When embedded inside soft matter, molecular motors induce stimuli that can result in a modification of the physical characteristics of the embedding medium. In azobenzene containing materials for example, a fluidization of the medium has been reported by several groups upon activation of the photo-isomerizing molecule. We discuss here the relations between the fluidization induced by small stimuli in amorphous materials and the glass-transition long standing problem. We focus our attention on the most important characteristic of the glass-transition, the spontaneous appearance of cooperative motions called dynamic heterogeneity that are thought to control the dynamics of the medium. We discuss how motors stimuli create dynamic heterogeneity from a cage-breaking mechanism, the properties of these heterogeneities and their relations with the observed fluidization.
Formation of rare-earth doped nanoparticles into silica matrix has been modelized by Molecular Dynamics simulations. Preforms with molar composition 0.10MgO–0.90SiO2 and 0.01EuO3/2–0.10MgO–0.89SiO2 have been investigated to have an insight on the structure and chemical composition of the nanoparticles, as well as the rare-earth ions local environment and their clustering. We have finally applied a uniaxal elongation of the rare-earth doped preform in order to mimic the drawing step that changes a preform into a fiber. We present herein first results on the modification of the nanoparticles size distribution.
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