Research

Smart Materials Design

Smart responsive materials that regulate their structure and properties according to external stimuli enable autonomic control of liquid or air transport. Because no internal power is required, the smart materials require no wires or external connectors, making them attractive to various applications such as smart textiles, evaporative cooling, separation processes, energy harvesting, and devices for haptic feedback. Of particular interest are materials that respond to light, heat, humidity, ionic strength, and combinations of these stimuli.

We aim to design smart responsive materials with tailored surface chemistry and functions. We use biomimetic approaches inspired by nature for materials design and engineering based on polymers, fibers, soft materials, nanomaterials and advanced manufacturing. In particular, we are focusing on the following topics:

• Stimuli responsive materials
• Surface chemistry
• Bio-inspired design
• Electrospinning
• 3D printing

Selected publications:

Lihong Lao, Hedan Bai, Jintu Fan. Water Responsive Fabrics with Artificial Leaf Stomata. Advanced Fiber Materials, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1007/s42765-023-00269-5. (Link) 

Personal Thermal and Moisture Management

Personal thermal and moisture management is essential to thermal comfort and health performance of the human body in daily life. Most people feel comfortable within a narrow range of temperature (i.e., between 20 °C and 26 °C) and relative humidity (i.e., between 30% and 60%). In extremely hot or cold environments, dynamic climate conditions or excessive physical activities, the human body cannot always achieve thermal comfort levels. Therefore, thermoregulatory textiles and smart clothing based on advanced materials play an increasingly significant role in personal thermal and moisture management.

We aim to develop thermoregulatory textile materials via smart materials and advanced manufacturing. In particular, we are focusing on the following topics:

• Surface wettability
• Thermal regulation
• Directional liquid transport
• Environmental response
• Wearable technology

Selected publications:

Lihong Lao, Liling Fu, Genggeng Qi, Emmanuel P. Giannelis, Jintu Fan. Superhydrophilic wrinkle-free cotton fabrics via plasma and nanofluid treatment. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2017 (9), 38109-38116. (Link) 

Lihong Lao, Dahua Shou, Yuen Shing Wu, Jintu Fan. “Skin-like” fabric for personal moisture management. Science Advances, 2020(6), eaaz0013. (Link)

Smart Building and Environmental Control

Human being spends ~90% of the live time indoors, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. So it’s vitally important in the built environment that the indoor space are designed and optimized for human health, comfort and well-being. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 2.3 billion people worldwide are at risk of serious health problems such as heart disease, lung cancer, and strokes due to exposure to high indoor air pollution. Therefore, it’s essential to design smart and green buildings, where environmental control systems play a pivotal role in regulating the indoor environment, such as ventilation, temperature and air quality controls.

We aim to develop smart materials that can be integrated into environmental control systems that optimize a built environment’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) performance and create a smart, healthier and energy-saving environment for human occupants. In particular, we are focusing on the following topics: