Symposium SB07-Frontiers of Unconventional Polymer Networks

Traditional polymer networks are typical composed of flexible polymer chains that are chemically crosslinked by covalent bonds. Recent research effort have been devoted to engineering unconventional polymer networks by incorporating dynamic bonds, chemical diversity, or modulating network architectures. For example, polymer networks with dynamic bonds have shown great capability in adapting their environment and exhibiting unprecedented properties, such as ultra-stretchability, high-toughness, recyclability and self-healing, as well as enhanced mass transport and thermal, ionic, or electrical conductivities. In this field, dynamic bonds, including dynamic covalent bonds and physical bonds (such as ioinic bonds, hydrogen bonds, metal-ligand coordination, and hydrophobic interactions), have been utilized to program macroscopic response of polymer networks by regulating their molecular architectures. As another example, polymer networks with mechanochemicallly responsive groups have deomstrated unconventional properties such as color-change, molecular releas, self-strengthening and self-growing, in response to typically destructive loads. Moreover, polymer networks with different polarities such as color-change, molecular release, self-strengthening and self-growing, in response to typical destrucitve loads. Moreover, polymer networks with different polarities or stimuli-responsive bonds can be reconfigured or even degraded with external stimuli or solvent. These unique properties of polymer networks have led to many innovative advances in different areas including wearable/implantable devices, smart windows, soft robotics, stretchable (bio)electronics, safe batteries, and 3D/4D printing. This symposium will bring together researchers working in the field of polymer networks with unconventional bonds and architectures. Both experimental and theoretical contributions, including computational studies, dedicated to the understanding and advancement of the field of unconventional polymer networks are anticipated.

Topics will include:

Self-healing polymer networks
Self-strengthening/softening polymer networks
Self-growing polymer networks
Self-adaptive polymer networks
Stimuli-responsive polymer networks
Programmable polymer networks
Toughening hydrogels and elastomers
Polymer mechanochemistry
Degradable polymers with active chemical groups
Chemical recyclable polymer networks
CO2 or light tunable polymer networks.
Constructive polymer networks in response to destructive environmental stressors
Design unconventional polymers for additive manufacturing

Invited Speakers:

Zhenan Bao (Stanford University, USA)
Stephan Craig (Duke University, USA)
Costantino Creton (ESPCI Paris, France)
Filip Du Prez (Ghent University, Belgium)
Jianping Gong (Hokkaido University, Japan)
Zhibin Guan (University of California, Irvine, USA)
Jeremiah Johnson (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)
Julia Kalow (Northwestern University, USA)
Ali Khademhosseini (Terasaki Institute, USA)
Stuart Rowan (The University of Chicago, USA)
Takamasa Sakai (The University of Tokyo, Japan)
Zhigang Suo (Harvard University, USA)
Mark Tibbitt (ETH Zürich, Switzerland)
Marek Urban (Clemson University, USA)
Tao Xie (Zhejiang University, China)
Xuzhou Yan (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China)
Xuanhe Zhao (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)

Symposium Organizers

Qiming Wang

University of Southern California

Civil and Environmental Engineering

USA

Pengfei Cao

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

USA

Ximin He

University of California, Los Angeles

USA

Kay Saalwächter

Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg

Germany

Topics

biomaterial ionic conductor polymer recycling self-assembly strain relationship toughness