Dr. Matteo Palma
Our research focuses on the controlled assembly of functional nanostructures, down to single-molecule resolution. We use (supra)molecular interactions to drive the self- organization of nano-moieties from solution to nanopatterned substrates. We employ different building blocks for this: carbon nanotubes (as nano-electrodes/transducers), DNA origami (as nanoscale scaffolds), and 2D nanomaterials. Applications range from studies in the field of (supra)molecular optoelectronics, to biosensing and single-molecule biological investigations.
Dr. Yao Luo
Robust Superhydrophobic Surfaces: Inspired by the Lotus Effect, superhydrophobic surfaces can be created via building surface micro morphologies and modifying surface chemistry. Our study involves design of superhydrophobic surfaces with high mechanical, chemical and thermal robustness so that they can be practically applied in our daily life and industry for e.g. self-cleaning, oil-water separation, anti-icing, anti-corrosion etc.
AI and Superhydrophobic Materials: Synthesis of functional materials usually requires people who have relevant expertise and rich experience in the area. In this project, we have designed an AI platform to supervise synthesis of superhydrophobic surfaces. We used artificial neural network to build mathematical mappings between material synthetic parameters and material performance, and then used evolutionary algorithms for data analysis to optimise material performance. Using this AI platform, even a lay person is able to synthesize robust superhydrophobic materials, without in-depth physiochemical knowledge or relevant training; the synthetic parameters and procedures can be simply obtained by inputting the required material performance (e.g. water contact angle > 150°) into the AI platform.
Topological Ultra-Slippery Surfaces: Droplet motion control has many promising applications in the fields of e.g. energy, microfluidics, lab-on-a-chip device, etc., yet is limited due to the difficulty in regulating its wettability. Inspired by three natural systems, we have designed topological ultraslippery surfaces for droplet motion control. We fabricated grooved structures of rice leaf and wedge-shaped structures of shore bird beak for directional droplet transporting, which was further integrated with pitcher plant inspired slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS). Fabricated rice leaflike grooved nanotextured SLIPS can properly shape the droplet footprint to achieve a sliding resistance anisotropy of 109.8 μN, which is 27 times larger than that of a natural rice leaf and can therefore be used to transport droplets efficiently and precisely. The proposed concept is believed to have potential applications for condensing heat transfer and droplet-based lab-on-a-chip devices.
Robust and Degradable Superhydrophobic Materials: To date, the major competition in the field of superhydrophobic materials is to keep improving their durability. However, the accumulation of robust superhydrophobic materials may lead to serious environmental issues because they can be mechanically, chemically, and thermally stable but are not degradable. To tackle this challenge, we designed a durable superhydrophobic composite by integrating hydrophobic nanoparticles into polyhexahydrotriazine (PHT) – a polymer that can be dissolved and recycled by strong acids. In addition to its exceptional mechanical and thermal durability, the composite is chemically stable because the PHT is under the protection of hydrophobic nanoparticles on the surfaces so that the material cannot be wetted and is stable when being exposed to corrosive solutions. Ethanol was used as the “key” to initiate the recycling process; the composite is pre-wetted by ethanol, which facilitates the contact between PHT and acids, so that the robust superhydrophobic composite can be decomposed and recycled.