Bio-inspired Stimuli-Responsive Hybrids

主讲人 : Luyi Sun

In this presentation, nanocoatings with three distinct microstructures inspired by nature will be discussed. In the first part, organic/inorganic hybrid nanocoatings with a nacre-like microstructure generated via a facile co-assembly process will be presented. Thanks to the high concentration (up to 70 wt%) of well-aligned inorganic nanosheets and a well-integrated structure after cross ing, such thin coatings exhibit exceptional mechanical, barrier, and flame retardant properties, while maintaining a high transparency. In the second part, inspired by marine organisms that can use muscle-controlled surface structures to achieve rapid and reversible changes in transparency, color, and patterns, a series of strain dependent mechanochromic devices will be presented. Utilizing microcracks generated via deformation-controlled surface-engineering, rigid nanocoatings affixed atop a soft substrate exhibit a broad range of mechanochromic behaviors with highsensitivity and reversibility.In the third part, a series of moisture responsive wrinkle dynamics inspired by human skin on a similar b structure featuring different reversibility and stabilitywill be discussed. These uniqueresponsive dynamics result in the invention of a series of optical devices triggered by moisture, including anti-counterfeit tabs, encryption devices, water indicators, light diffusors, and anti-glare films. The above three biomimetic nanocoatings are promising for widespread applications.

(Nature Communicationsdoi: 10.1038/ncomms11802)

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主讲人简介：

Dr. Luyi Sun is a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and the director of the Polymer Program at the University of Connecticut. His current research focuses on the design and synthesis of nano-structured multifunctional hybrids for various applications. Dr. Sun has published more than one hundred sixty (160) peer-reviewed journal articles. He is the inventor/co-inventor of forty two (42) international and US patents/patent applications. Many of his patents have been licensed or commercialized. The scientific results by Dr. Sun’s group have been reported by major media including Chemical & Engineering News of the American Chemical Society, Plastics Engineering magazine of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), New Scientist, Smithsonian Magazine, Yahoo, MSN, etc.