Eutectogels: The multifaceted soft ionic materials of tomorrow
About it
This is a compilation of figures designed for a collaborative of Pablo Mercadal, Dr Agustin González, Dr Ana Beloqui, Liliana C., Dr Tomé, Dr Matías Picchio, Prof. David Mecerreyes, and Prof. Marcelo Calderon. The paper covers eutectogels, innovative materials that combine eutectic ionic liquids with gels to form soft structures with applications in energy, biomedicine, and electronics. It explores synthesis techniques, current challenges for industrial scaling, and future research directions in areas like solid-state batteries and controlled drug delivery. Article published in JACS Au Volume 4, Issue 10
The Challenge
A review paper means a lot of figures, and in most cases each one ends up looking like it was made by a different person on a different day. The challenge was to build a unified visual system across every figure and the graphical abstract, one that felt consistent enough to read as a single narrative while keeping the molecular chemistry scientifically accurate.
The Process
From the beginning, we worked together to create a coherent visual proposal where all the figures maintained the same style. The concept was to break, in a way, the fourth wall with the audience by adapting everything to a casual, everyday register — like those quick, loosely written notes scribbled in the lab, accompanied by simple but attractive drawings. The TOC is a clear example of that approach. This consistency created an organic connection across the visual narrative of the work, which also pays off from a marketing perspective. At the same time, we set out to represent molecular chemistry in a more artistic and original way without sacrificing accuracy (Reviewer 2 said they didn't like it — typical of Reviewer 2). Every molecule was drawn from models optimised in ChemDraw, ensuring that structures maintained the correct proportions and angles, as Linus Pauling would dictate.