Bio-informed materials: three guiding principles for innovation informed by biology

Stuart‐Fox, Devi; Ng, Leslie; Elgar, Mark A.; Hölttä‐Otto, Katja; Schroeder-Turk, Gerd; Voelcker, Nicolas H.; Watson, Gregory S.

doi:10.1038/s41578-023-00590-w

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…This highlights a need for strategies that can simultaneously increase the dispersibility of the nanoparticles and selectively strengthen their interactions with the polymer matrix. Recently, bionic engineering has emerged as a crucial field in the development and creation of innovative materials, particularly in the realm of composites. − Xanthium , a genus of spiny herbs, features seeds covered with prickly surfaces. These short, hooked prickles play a key role in preventing direct seed contact (as illustrated in Figure a), instead facilitating the attachment of burs to animal fur and clothing for dispersal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioinspired Organic Porous Coupling Agent for Enhancement of Nanoparticle Dispersion and Interfacial Strength

Jia,

Zhao

2024

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Composite materials have significantly advanced with the integration of inorganic nanoparticles as fillers in polymers. Achieving fine dispersion of these nanoparticles within the composites, however, remains a challenge. This study presents a novel solution inspired by the natural structure of Xanthium. We have developed a polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM)-based porous coupling agent, named PCA. PCA's rigid backbone structure enhances interfacial interactions through a unique intermolecular interlocking mechanism. This approach notably improves the dispersion of SiO 2 nanoparticles in various organic solvents and lowpolarity polymers. Significantly, PCA-modified SiO 2 nanoparticles embedded in polyisoprene rubber showed enhanced mechanical properties. The Young's modulus increases to 30.7 MPa, compared to 5.4 MPa in hexadecyltrimethoxysilane-modified nanoparticles. Further analysis shows that PCA-modified composites not only become stiffer but also gain strength and ductility. This research demonstrates a novel biomimetic strategy for enhancing interfacial interactions in composites, potentially leading to stronger, more versatile composite materials.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioinspired Organic Porous Coupling Agent for Enhancement of Nanoparticle Dispersion and Interfacial Strength

Jia,

Zhao

2024

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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“…Nature has inspired scientists to develop various materials with organized architectures to realize targeted functions, − such as adhesion, superhydrophobic surface, ultrastrong fiber, etc. As a typical example, spider silk can efficiently collect water from a high-humidity atmosphere − thanks to the spindle knot on the fiber of spider silk, driven by the surface energy gradient and difference in Laplace pressure. , If water droplets can evaporate rapidly from the surface of the spindle knot, then the water transfer path will form.…”

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confidence: 99%

Bioinspired “Spindle Knot Effect” Integrated into Mixed-Matrix Nanofibrous Membranes for Highly Efficient Solar-to-Vapor Conversion

Ren,

Xiao,

Yang

et al. 2024

ACS Materials Lett.

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The microstructure of photothermal interface materials for solar steam generation is crucial to simultaneously optimize the water transfer path and solar-to-vapor conversion efficiency; however, it remains a formidable challenge. Herein, bioinspired by the spindle knot structure of spider silk, spindleknotted nanofibrous mixed-matrix membranes are facilely prepared and exhibit highly efficient solar-to-vapor conversion due to the "spindle knot effect" that results from the localized solar-to-thermal conversion at the spindle knots and water's directional movement on the spindle knots' surface. The asprepared membrane achieves an evaporation rate of 2.41 kg m −2 h −1 with a conversion efficiency of 95.9% under 1 Sun and a maximum water production of 4.81 kg m −2 in 1 day. Besides, it can output a high electric power of 0.89 W m −2 to power small devices due to the Seebeck effect and exhibit strong ice removal performance. This work reports the bioinspired strategy for constructing multifunctional photothermal interface materials.

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In Situ Construction of Bionic Self‐Recognition Layer for High‐Performance Zinc–Iodine Batteries

Su,

Ren,

et al. 2024

Advanced Energy Materials

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Aqueous Zinc–Iodine (Zn–I2) batteries are promising candidates as energy storage system because of their high safety and low cost, but their application is hindered by the dendrite growth, the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and corrosion, the shuttle and self‐discharge effect of I3− at electrode/electrolyte interface. Inspired by self‐recognition mechanism of Zn supplement for human body, a self‐recognition layer (SR) is in situ constructed on Zn surface through the coordination of chondroitin sulfate (CHS) molecules with Zn2+ ions and Zn metal, which can induce the uniform Zn2+ deposition via the self‐recognition of Zn2+, suppress the HER and corrosion via physical shielding, as well as restrain the self‐discharge effect of I3− ions via electrostatic repulsion. The in situ SR affords the highly reversible plating/stripping for 9000 h. Remarkably, Zn–I2 full batteries with SR achieve long cycling‐life of 16 000 cycles, which is verified by pouch cell with stable charge/discharge capacity of ≈130 mAh g−1 for 200 cycles. This bionic self‐recognition methodology opens novel avenues to design the optimal electrode/electrolyte interface for high‐performance Zn–I2 batteries.

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Bio-informed materials: three guiding principles for innovation informed by biology

Cited by 8 publications

References 10 publications

Bioinspired Organic Porous Coupling Agent for Enhancement of Nanoparticle Dispersion and Interfacial Strength

Bioinspired Organic Porous Coupling Agent for Enhancement of Nanoparticle Dispersion and Interfacial Strength

Bioinspired “Spindle Knot Effect” Integrated into Mixed-Matrix Nanofibrous Membranes for Highly Efficient Solar-to-Vapor Conversion

In Situ Construction of Bionic Self‐Recognition Layer for High‐Performance Zinc–Iodine Batteries

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