ShareAdaptive Material Technologies
For sustainability in architecture, energy, and industrial applications
Venus’ flower basket, a type of deep-sea sponge, revealed by electron microscopy. The multiple layers within the structure, which are natural glass fibers, add strength and conduct light from the environment, serving both a mechanical and an optical function. Learn more...
Researchers are working with surfaces that look like miniature beds of nails in which a series of microposts move in unison almost as though they were an artificial muscle that responds and adapts to environmental cues. When the posts are lying down, liquids spread easily across the surface, but when they are upright, liquids bounce off. These posts can even be manipulated to grab and release particles from solution.
Learning from a sponge
A wider view of the Venus’ flower basket. Each strand of the natural glass is composed of bundles of threads embedded like reinforced concrete. Learn more...
Wyss Institute scientists are exploring the way in which sponges produce sophisticated glass structures that are illuminated by a crown of optical fibers into which light is concentrated by lenses. These structures are able to make the best use of the sparse light available from the faint bioluminescence of nearby bacteria. The naturally formed glass is thousands of times stronger than its man-made counterpart and is produced at ambient temperatures -- without energy-intensive furnaces. The glass house is optimized for strength, and light intensity and flow. Adaptive building materials based on these natural designs could provide exceptional mechanical properties and make better use of available sources of energy for heating and power generation.
Lessons from a lotus leaf
When water lands on a lotus leaf, it doesn't spread out evenly across the surface as it would on contact with most other materials. Instead, it forms into beads and can remain so mobile that it easily bounces off. Wyss researchers are looking into ways that the repellant property of superhydrophobic materials, such as lotus leaves, can be used to prevent ice from forming on the wings of aircraft. Adapting these passive materials for use in the aircraft industry would avoid the safety hazards associated with ice, while also eliminating current time-intensive de-icing procedures, which also leave chemical residues.
Initial target applications
- Biomimetic materials that increase energy efficiency in buildings
· Light-sensitive materials that control transparency and thermal gain
· Surface materials that harness energy from the environment
- Superhydrophic surface materials
· Materials that prevent or slow ice formation, can adapt from hydrophilic (non-wetting) to hydrophobic (wetting), and can collect rainwater efficiently
- Dynamic Surface Structures
· Active, movable surface structures that control cell growth, biofouling, particle flow, heat transport, reflective properties and adhesion
WYSS FACULTY:
Joanna Aizenberg
L. Mahadevan
George Whitesides
