A volume-memory liquid

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

By dispersing nanoporous particles in an electrolyte solution, a “milklike” suspension is formed. At a low temperature, the nanoporous phase is hydrophilic, and thus the liquid can fill the nanopores spontaneously. As the temperature increases, the nanopore surfaces become hydrophobic. Consequently, the confined liquid defiltrates, leading to a significant system expansion. As the suspension works in between two different temperatures, it behaves as a thermal machine, exhibiting a volume-memory characteristic. Due to the large surface area, its energy density and the deformability are much higher than that of conventional shape-memory solids.