Water-evaporation-induced intermolecular force for nano-wrinkled polymeric membrane

Binbin Zhang; Fengjun Chun; Guorui Chen; Tao Yang; Alberto Libanori; Kyle Chen; Giorgio Conta; Da Xiong; Cheng Yan; Weiqing Yang; Jun Chen

Cell Reports Physical Science (Jun 2021)

Water-evaporation-induced intermolecular force for nano-wrinkled polymeric membrane

Binbin Zhang,
Fengjun Chun,
Guorui Chen,
Tao Yang,
Alberto Libanori,
Kyle Chen,
Giorgio Conta,
Da Xiong,
Cheng Yan,
Weiqing Yang,
Jun Chen

Affiliations

Binbin Zhang: Key Laboratory of Advanced Technologies of Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, PR China
Fengjun Chun: Key Laboratory of Advanced Technologies of Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, PR China
Guorui Chen: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Tao Yang: Key Laboratory of Advanced Technologies of Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, PR China
Alberto Libanori: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Kyle Chen: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Giorgio Conta: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Da Xiong: Key Laboratory of Advanced Technologies of Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, PR China
Cheng Yan: Key Laboratory of Advanced Technologies of Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, PR China
Weiqing Yang: Key Laboratory of Advanced Technologies of Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, PR China; Corresponding author
Jun Chen: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Corresponding author

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 2, no. 6
p. 100441

Abstract

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Summary: Nano-wrinkled polymeric membranes have received tremendous attention for their broad applications in tunable optics, biomedicine, surface wettability, and flexible electronics. However, achieveing a low-cost and scalable synthesis routine remains highly desirable. Here, we invent a simple, bottom-up, polymer engineering strategy by introducing water molecules into the polymerization process. Water evaporation induces intermolecular forces that build a crosslinking reaction gradient from the material surface to its interior, which buckles the surface-forming wrinkles. The shape, geometry, size, orientation, and arrangement of the wrinkles on the polymer surface can be designed accordingly. Moreover, the as-fabricated nano-wrinkled, polymeric membranes display outstanding performance in energy and sensing applications, boosting output current and sensing sensitivity by 611% and 164%, respectively, compared to their flat counterparts. This work may contribute to a low-cost, scalable, and environmentally friendly strategy to engineer polymer surfaces with controllable wrinkles, showing great potential for the development of various soft-matter technologies.

Published in Cell Reports Physical Science

ISSN: 2666-3864 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Science: Physics
Website: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science

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