Nanostructured Layers and 4D Printed Materials—Scalable Stimuli-Responsive Functionality

There is high interest in new materials and assembly methods from the nanoscale up to the macroscale. A combination of surface and interfacial chemistry, thermo-mechanical properties, self- or directed- assembly enable unique designs and structure-property relationships that are challenging when carried at various hierarchies. The use of lithographic and non-lithographic methods is key towards demonstrating high throughput fabrication in thin-film materials. Hybrid and multilayer structures that have anisotropic thermo-mechanical properties that can drive actuation and the appropriate stimuli-response. This talk will highlight our work on nanostructured multilayer films that can be structured using various deposition methods ranging from polyelectrolyte layer-by-layer approaches to polymer multilayer melt co-extrusion. In another demonstration, we have utilized the CLiPS process of polymer melt co-extrusion of layers to produce microparticles with unique geometries and high multilayer internal structure useful for applications such as photonic materials and controlled release technologies. Lastly, we demonstrate scalability with 4D printing using stimuli-response and shape-memory properties in thermoset polymer materials.