Homogeneous solution assembled Turing structures with near zero strain semi-coherence interface

Abstract

Turing structures typically emerge in reaction-diffusion processes far from thermodynamic equilibrium, involving at least two chemicals with different diffusion coefficients (inhibitors and activators) in the classic Turing systems. Constructing a Turing structure in homogeneous solutions is a large challenge because of the similar diffusion coefficients of most small molecule weight species. In this work, we show that Turing structure with near zero strain semi-coherence interfaces is constructed in homogeneous solutions subject to the diffusion kinetics. Experimental results combined with molecular dynamics and numerical simulations confirm the Turing structure in the spinel ferrite films. Furthermore, using the hard-soft acid-base theory, the design of coordination binding can improve the diffusion motion of molecules in homogeneous solutions, increasing the library of Turing structure designs, which provides a greater potential to develop advanced materials.