Mesoporous materials are synthesized through template-directed self-assembly. Their forms can be powders or thin films. Their potential applications include catalysis, separation, sensors, and low-dielectric-constant (low-k) insulating materials in semiconductor chips.
Selected relevant publications:
- Wang, W., Grozea, D., Kim, A., Perovic, D. D. & Ozin, G. A. Vacuum-assisted aerosol deposition of a low-dielectric-constant periodic mesoporous organosilica film. Adv. Mater. 22, 99-102 (2010). Publisher’s version
- Wang, W., Grozea, D., Kohli, S., Perovic, D. D. & Ozin, G. A. Water repellent periodic mesoporous organosilicas. ACS Nano 5, 1267-1275 (2011). Publisher’s version
- Wang, Z. M., Wang, W., Coombs, N., Soheilnia, N. & Ozin, G. A. Graphene oxide-periodic mesoporous silica sandwich nanocomposites with vertically oriented channels. ACS Nano 4, 7437-7450 (2010). Publisher’s version
- Seino, M., Wang, W., Lofgreen, J. E., Puzzo, D. P., Manabe, T. & Ozin, G. A. Low-k periodic mesoporous organosilica with air walls: POSS-PMO. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 133, 18082-18085 (2011). Publisher’s version
- Guan, M., Wang, W., Henderson, E. J., Dag, O., Kubel, C., Chakravadhanula, V. S. K., Rinck, J., Moudrakovski, I. L., Thomson, J., McDowell, J., Powell, A. K., Zhang, H. X. & Ozin, G. A. Assembling photoluminescent silicon nanocrystals into periodic mesoporous organosilica. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134, 8439-8446 (2012). Publisher’s version
Ferrofluid-containing liquid-infused porous surfaces (FLIPS) is a multifunctional platform that could manipulate colloids and droplets, switch adhesion and friction, control liquid flow and biofilms.
Relevant publication:
- Wang, W.†; Timonen J.†; Carlson, A.; Drotlef, D; Zhang, T.Y.C.; Grinthal, A.; Kolle, S.; Wong, T.-S.; Hatton, B.; Carlson, A.; Kang, S. H.; Kennedy, S.; Chi, J.; Blough, R. T.; Sitti, M.; Mahadevan, L.; Aizenberg, J., Multifunctional ferrofluid-infused surfaces with reconfigurable multiscale topography. Nature 559, 77-82 (2018). Publisher’s version, accepted version, press release.
The study of collective microrobots takes inspiration from nature’s examples, including fish schools, bird flocks, insect swarms, and human crowds. It bridges fundamental inquiries in disciplines such as statistical physics, colloidal sciences, and fluid mechanics with application-driven research in energy and medicine.
Relevant publications:
- Wang, W., Giltinan, J., Zakharchenko, S. & Sitti, M. Dynamic and programmable self-assembly of micro-rafts at the air-water interface. Sci. Adv. 3, e1602522 (2017). Publisher’s version, PDF, video
- Wang, W.*, Kishore, V., Koens, L., Lauga, E. & Sitti, M*. Collectives of Spinning Mobile Micro-robots for Navigation and Object Manipulation at the Air-water Interface in 2018 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) 1–9 (2018). Publisher’s version, videos
- Koens, L.; Wang, W.; Sitti, M.; Lauga, E., The near and far of two magnetic capillary disks, Soft Matter 15, 1497–1507 (2019). Publisher’s version, inside back cover